Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has acknowledged that he has been the target of death threats due to his remarks on banditry linked to illicit mining in Nigeria. During a Monday visit to the explosion scene in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, he verified this. Last Tuesday, an explosion occurred on Adeyi Avenue in Bodija, Ibadan. 58 houses were damaged, 77 people were injured in varied degrees, and five people were confirmed deceased. Alake said that he has been getting threats to his life ever since he made remarks before the National Assembly on the involvement of influential and well-placed Nigerians in illicit mining.

Alake Dele Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development Written by Ademola Adegbite Please tell this story: Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has acknowledged that he has been the target of death threats due to his remarks on banditry linked to illicit mining in Nigeria. During a Monday visit to the explosion scene in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, he verified this. Last Tuesday, an explosion occurred on Adeyi Avenue in Bodija, Ibadan. 58 houses were damaged, 77 people were injured in varied degrees, and five people were confirmed deceased. Alake said that he has been getting threats to his life ever since he made remarks before the National Assembly on the involvement of influential and well-placed Nigerians in illicit mining.

 The minister declared, "I did say categorically to the whole world that powerful Nigerians are behind the banditry associated with illegal miners in this country if you follow my budget defense at the House of Representatives or Senate." Threats were made when I publicly stated it, but we won't back down because it's necessary to speak these things out, and most people already understood what I was saying.  I just officially validated what many others had been claiming based on intelligence reports. Thus, there is a great deal of collusion between the upper, middle, and lower classes in society.

It's not a place reserved just for tall huts. It cuts through all social classes. This is a social issue, therefore, and I did mention that we were combining all of them using both kinetic and non-kinetic plans and tactics during that discussion at the budgetary defense. I am unable to provide the specifics to the public at this time as doing so would be counterproductive. However, he asserted that to stop the illegal miners' operations, the federal government was coordinating with all relevant state, municipal, and host community partners.  According to Alake, the host communities' engagement became essential since, in the end, any security plan developed by the committee will incorporate both them and the locals who are on the ground and have in-depth knowledge of the area.

One of the things that many people are unaware of that is happening even in the bush right now is that the bandits that the powerful Nigerians are supporting have heavy weapons and financial resources at their disposal. In an attempt to topple them, they even planted explosives on the ground to hinder our ground forces as they advanced through the forest. For this reason, he continued, "We need the military's presence, commitment, and engagement. "It would be presumptuous and precipitate for the government to make any solid pronouncement or definite pronouncement on the incident for now, until we have examined all the forensic analyses reports, all the investigations from all the security agencies, the mines inspectorate division of the ministry of solid minerals, and other relevant information," stated Alake, who denounced the Ibadan explosion. "For the time being, it would be premature and presumptuous for the government to make any firm or definitive statements regarding the incident until we have reviewed all of the reports from forensic analyses, all of the investigations from all security agencies, the ministry of solid minerals' mines inspectorate division, and the intelligence arms of the various agencies before making any statements."

"They are all working nonstop to make sure the government receives a legitimate and very effective forensic report. Anything before then will be assuming, hasty, and ultimately deceptive; only after this will the government be in a position to make a well-informed decision and a definitive statement.”