Niger Governor Tells Parents to Keep Teenagers Away From Mining

(Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago. Photo by TheCable)

The governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, asked priests and religious leaders to use their sermons to tell parents not to allow their teenage children to work in artisanal mining.

Artisanal mining is when people dig for minerals by hand in mines without proper safety equipment.

He made this request on Tuesday when Christian leaders visited him at the Government House in Minna to express sympathy following a tragedy.

Thirty-seven young people d!ed while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

These young people had been doing artisanal mining.

Bago said that the government of Niger State has made basic and secondary education free for all children.

He urged parents to send their children to school instead of letting them go into the dangerous business of mining.

He said there is no reason why any parent would not send their child to school when education is completely free.

The governor said the d£aths were preventable.

He said that security officers did not do their jobs properly and this is why so many young people d!ed.

He promised that his government would investigate what happened and find out the truth.

He said they would not hide or ignore this tragedy.

A Christian leader named Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, who is also a bishop, visited the governor to express sadness on behalf of the Christian community.

He praised the governor for delaying his campaign launch out of respect for the families who lost their children.

He asked the governor to make sure the true facts about what happened were revealed.

Prayers were said for the d£ceased young people and for their families.