A few hours after northern states' governors and elders called for a ban on mining activities in the region, the Niger State House of Assembly raised an alarm over immigrants' involvement in illicit mining.

The northern leaders met in Kaduna on Monday and urged the federal government to ban the mining of all solid minerals in the region for six months to curb the surge in insecurity.

In line with the position of northern elders, the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, said that the increasing activities of bandits in the state may be linked to the unchecked movement of foreign nationals involved in illegal mining.

He spoke yesterday in Minna, the state capital, during a visit by the assistant comptroller-general of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Zone D, Mr Anthony Emeka Chikezie,

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Sarkindaj expressed concern over the rising number of undocumented immigrants allegedly involved in illegal mining across the state.

The Speaker noted that many of the illegal miners were migrants from neighbouring African countries who entered Niger State without proper authorisation or screening by the Immigration Service.

He said the lapses in border monitoring and control had contributed to the current insecurity in the country, adding that "Niger State is already dealing with serious security issues, and the continuous entry of people engaging in illegal mining is making things worse.

The Immigration Service is falling short in this area."

The lawmaker said, "We need to intensify efforts to regulate the inflow of undocumented immigrants. Doing so will help reduce some of the security problems we are currently battling."

Chikeze had earlier presented a list of challenges confronting the Immigration Service, including inadequate operational vehicles and motorcycles, insufficient office furniture and poor office accommodation.