Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the National Assembly, has alleged that retired military generals are heavily involved in illegal mining activities across Nigeria.
Oshiomhole made this claim on Friday during a Senate Committee on Appropriations meeting, where the 2025 budget report for the Solid Minerals Development Committee, chaired by Senator Sampson Ekong, was presented.
Speaking in his capacity as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and a member of the Appropriations Committee, Oshiomhole noted that these retired generals are widely known for their involvement in illegal mining.
He referenced a letter he had written to former President Muhammadu Buhari during his administration, addressing the same issue and urging action to curb the problem.
Oshiomhole said, “The ongoing illegal mining across the country is being carried out by retired generals, and we know them. Yes, we know them. Nobody in Africa doesn’t know them. I wrote a letter to former President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter when he was in office.
“This is because a team that I sent to go and conduct the primary somewhere reported back to me the challenge of conducting primary elections in Zamfara because of the illegal miners.
“If we have to fight this menace, we need to deploy the Army even to kill anyone who is involved in the illegal pumping of oil. We should also deploy JTFs, comprising the Army, Police, and Air force, against them.”
