Nigeria’s Senate Passes Bill to Create Mines Rangers for Mining Site Security

The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the Mines Rangers Service, a specialized enforcement agency that will secure mining sites and ensure compliance with the nation’s mining laws.

The passage followed the presentation of the report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Senator Ekong Samson, during plenary.

According to the bill, the proposed Mines Rangers Service will operate as a dedicated security and regulatory body responsible for protecting mining areas, monitoring operations, and enforcing compliance across Nigeria’s mineral sector.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commended the initiative, describing it as a timely measure that would strengthen Nigeria’s regulatory framework and enhance the sustainable management of its mineral resources.

“This is a timely intervention that will strengthen our regulatory framework and ensure that Nigeria’s mineral resources are properly managed,” Akpabio said.

Other lawmakers who supported the bill, including Senator Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South), emphasized the importance of the proposed service in addressing security and regulatory challenges in the mining industry.

“If established, the Rangers Service will be physically present at mining sites across the country. They will serve as the eyes on the ground to monitor the extraction of our national resources,” Maidoki noted.

He added that with major mining investors currently operating in Nigeria, the creation of the Mines Rangers Service has become necessary to protect investments and ensure that the country fully benefits from its vast mineral wealth.

After clause-by-clause consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the bill successfully scaled third reading, paving the way for its transmission to the House of Representatives for concurrence.