By Obiabin Onukwugha
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has called for an end to destructive extractivism, following the deaths of 37 young miners who were arrested over alleged illegal mining in Niger State.
Reacting to the incident, HOMEF in a statement made available to NatureNews on Monday, described the tragedy as “another warning of the devastating human and ecological costs of Nigeria’s extractive economy.”
It said while the cause of their deaths remains subject to investigation, the incident must prompt deeper questions about the conditions that drive young people into hazardous mining and the extractive model that continues to place human lives and ecosystems at risk.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, said the tragedy should not be viewed solely through the lens of illegal mining or security enforcement, but as part of a wider crisis created by destructive extractivism.
“We must stop treating extraction as the pathway to development while ignoring the lives, lands and ecosystems sacrificed in the process. Whether it is oil, gold or critical minerals, an economic model that destroys the ecological foundations of life cannot be the future we seek. Nigeria must not reproduce the history of the Niger Delta by replacing oil with minerals while leaving communities to bear pollution, dispossession, livelihood losses and ecological destruction,” Bassey said
The HOMEF executive Director submitted that the deaths underscore the urgent need to address the poverty, livelihood insecurity and economic exclusion that push people into dangerous and informal mining, while confronting the environmental destruction associated with unregulated extraction.
“Stopping illegal mining cannot mean simply replacing miners with more destructive industrial extraction. Nigeria must instead question an extractive model that prioritises mineral wealth while communities bear the costs through degraded forests, polluted water, damaged farmlands, unsafe working conditions and lost livelihoods.”
HOMEF therefore called on the Federal and Niger State Governments to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of the 37 detainees and establish accountability for any violations, negligence or other wrongdoing.
It also called on the federal and Niger State governments to address the socioeconomic drivers of hazardous mining, particularly poverty, unemployment and the loss of sustainable livelihood opportunities.
HOMEF also called for a halt to destructive mining practices that degrade forests, farmlands, water bodies and other ecological systems, and ensure that mining does not proceed in ecologically sensitive and community-dependent territories.
It also maintained that Nigeria cannot address the crisis of illegal mining without confronting the deeper crisis of extractivism.
“Strengthen environmental monitoring, enforcement and restoration in mining-affected communities, with polluters and operators held responsible for ecological damage.
“Ensure meaningful participation of affected communities in decisions concerning mineral extraction, including their right to determine what happens to their territories.
“Invest in non-extractive and sustainable livelihoods that reduce dependence on hazardous mining and strengthen community economies,” the statement read.
