Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N2.5 billion ($3.3 million) for satellite surveillance technology to combat illegal mining, a move aimed at preserving the nation’s mineral wealth and boosting revenues. The decision was announced by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, following a council meeting on Monday.
“The satellite gadgets will enable us to have real-time visuals of mining sites across the country,” Alake said. “At the click of a button, we can monitor mineral extraction volumes, track trucks transporting resources, and assess security conditions on the ground.” This system, he added, is part of an integrated framework to regulate mining activities and curb revenue leakages in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, which is estimated to lose billions of naira annually to illegal operations.
The new technology will establish an operational hub featuring live surveillance screens at the Mines Martial Centre and the minister’s office. The minister also revealed that over 300 mining cooperatives have been established to formalize artisanal miners and integrate them into the legal framework. “When they form cooperatives, they become structured, formalized, and bankable,” Alake explained. “They can access loans and must fulfill their financial obligations to the Nigerian state.”
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The government’s approach to ending illegal mining is twofold: a persuasive strategy to formalize artisanal miners and a coercive strategy to enforce regulations. Several illegal miners, including foreigners, have already been arrested and prosecuted. Meanwhile, calls for a probe into allegations by Senator Adams Oshiomhole (that retired military generals and influential Nigerians are involved in illegal mining) have not yet been addressed by the government.
“The same vigor used against oil bunkering should be applied to illegal mining,” Oshiomhole urged, emphasizing the scale of the problem. Nigeria’s solid minerals sector holds vast potential, but illegal mining has severely undermined efforts to harness these resources effectively. The satellite surveillance system is seen as a critical step toward restoring order and transparency in the sector.
