The Senate Wednesday called for urgent intervention to address escalating safety risks and environmental hazards arising from unsafe coal mining activities in Ankpa and other coal-bearing communities in Kogi state.
The resolution was sequel to a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Isah Jibrin (APC Kogi East) during plenary following the July 14, 2026 landslide which claimed 20 lives in Alufele, Enjema District.
Presenting the motion, Senator Jibrin noted that coal mining remains a key economic activity in Ankpa Local Government, particularly in Enjema, Okaba and Ikah communities, as well as in Omala and Olamaboro LGAs within the Ankpa Coal Block of the Anambra Basin.
He said coal deposits in the area are overlain by lateritic materials, loose sandstone, mudstone, clay and shale that are naturally unstable and susceptible to subsidence and landslides under heavy mechanical loading, and therefore expressed sadness over a ground failure and landslide that occurred on or about July 14, 2026 in Alufele, Enjema District.
He said the incident trapped artisanal miners underground while several trucks sank into mining pits during loading operations, leading to the death of 20 workers with several others injured.
“The unsafe mining methods presently adopted by many artisanal operators, particularly the widespread use of room-and-pillar mining without adequate structural reinforcement, have substantially increased risks of roof collapse, cave-ins and fatal accidents,” Jibrin stated.
He lamented that heavy-duty loading points located adjacent to unstable mining pits further aggravate geological instability and expose miners and communities to avoidable dangers, adding that many miners operate under informal arrangements without contracts, social security, health insurance or occupational hazard insurance.
“Victims of mining accidents, including families of deceased miners, are frequently left without adequate compensation, rehabilitation or alternative livelihood despite the enormous economic value derived from the nation’s mineral resources,” he added.