In a unified and decisive response to the worsening security crisis, the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council have jointly called on President Bola Tinubu to impose a six-month suspension on all mining activities across the 19 Northern states. This drastic measure is part of a series of resolutions aimed at tackling banditry and mass abductions, which the leaders blame largely on the proceeds of illegal mining.
The call was contained in a communiqué issued today, Tuesday, December 2, 2025, following a critical two-day joint meeting held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
The governors argued that illegal mining has become a “major contributory factor” to the security crises, providing criminal networks with a lucrative source of funding, weaponry, and operational stability.
They strongly recommended that the President direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to suspend mining exploration for a six-month period to conduct a comprehensive audit, allowing for a proper audit of all mining sites and operations across the region; revalidate licenses, subjecting all existing mining licenses to a revalidation process in consultation with state governors, and arrest the menace, using the suspension period to launch coordinated security operations to dismantle the network of artisanal and illegal miners fuelling violence.
To provide sustainable, coordinated funding for security operations across the vast region, the NSGF announced the creation of a Regional Security Trust Fund. Under the approved framework:
Monthly Contribution: Each of the 19 Northern states, in collaboration with its local governments, will contribute a combined sum of ₦1 billion monthly to the fund.
Funding Mechanism: The funds will be deducted at source under an agreed-upon framework, ensuring consistency.
Purpose: The pool will be used for joint operations, intelligence-driven interventions, and rapid, coordinated security responses across state borders.
Gombe State Governor and Chairman of the NSGF, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, emphasized that the grim reality of insecurity and poverty demanded coordinated financial muscle and political unity.
The communiqué also reaffirmed the leaders’ “wholehearted support and commitment” to the establishment of State Police, insisting that Nigeria’s centralized policing model is no longer adequate to address the security demands of a country with vast ungoverned spaces. The governors urged federal and state lawmakers from the region to expedite action for the constitutional reforms required for its actualization.
The resolutions from the Northern Governors’ Forum mark a significant shift from previous communiqués, moving from general lamentation to specific, drastic, and self-funded proposals. TheLink News notes that the proposed six-month mining suspension is a bold, high-risk political recommendation. While it directly targets a primary financial stream for banditry, solid minerals are on the Exclusive Legislative List, meaning the governors’ call requires the President’s direct executive order to the Minister of Solid Minerals. Hence, federal compliance is the ultimate test of the Abuja-Kaduna relationship.
This move also demands the financial sincerity test (₦1 Billion Fund) as committing ₦19 billion per month across the 19 states (₦1 billion from each) representing the need for a tangible commitment to collective security financing. Thus, the challenge lies in ensuring transparency and accountability in managing this multi-billion-naira fund to avoid the pitfalls of past, similarly intended regional initiatives.
The twin proposals, disrupting the criminal economy via a mining ban and creating a sustainable funding mechanism, are arguably the most decisive steps taken by the NSGF in years.
