The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has defended its decision to revoke 278 small-scale mining licences, insisting the action was necessary to correct widespread irregularities and safeguard communities affected by poor licencing practices.
Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Sulemana Yusif, made the clarification when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
He explained that the revocations followed a detailed review of nearly 1,300 mining licenses, which uncovered 907 irregularities and infractions.
“When we came into office, close to 1,300 licenses were reviewed. After that, we realised that 907 irregularities or infractions were identified. We further realised that some of these infractions were administrative in nature, which we asked the Minerals Commission to resolve,” Mr. Yusif said.
He maintained that the Ministry’s decision to revoke the licenses was lawful and backed by evidence of procedural and ethical breaches in the approval process.
“As I speak with you, just last week, about 278 small-scale mining licenses were revoked. Because we found out that a lot of the irregularities that have not been resolved were the reasons why we had to revoke them. In many cases, even when the recommendation said the mining should not happen, they went ahead and approved and gave out those concessions. We have revoked all such, and we challenge them to take us to court,” he asserted.
The Deputy Minister further noted that several of the revoked concessions posed serious safety and environmental risks, with some located dangerously close to residential areas and high-tension power lines.
“There were instances where the concessions were close to communities. If you were to go ahead to mine, you would end up mining within the homes of people. Also, we had some high-tension power lines running through the concession, and these ordinarily should not have been approved, but they were,” he said.
Mr. Yusif also condemned the practice of miners securing questionable permits and intimidating traditional authorities with unauthorised documents.
“Some chiefs would sit in their palaces, and people would walk in with their purported approval to mine and just flash them in the faces of these chiefs to mine, when they, the owners of these lands, were not consulted. That is not what the law says,” he stressed.
He assured that all petitions from chiefs and affected communities would be investigated and that only legitimate and compliant miners would be allowed to operate.
“People who really want to mine should come and take those concessions and mine,” the Deputy Minister added.
