The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has hailed the 16-year jail sentence of Ansaru Commander, Mahmud Usman, as a significant victory in the war against illegal mining.

Alake’s remark was made known in a statement issued by Mr. Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister on Sunday 14 September, 2025.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja gave the verdict on Thursday, and remanded the accused in prison to face 31 other counts charges.

The Minister commended the judiciary for supporting the efforts of the ministry to crush illegal mining, stating that the verdict has finally established that bandits engage in illegal mining to fund their operations.

“It is gratifying for me that the judiciary is aligned with the ministry’s objective of zero tolerance for illegal mining. Further tightening of the noose around illegalities in mining continues as more drastic measures will be announced shortly,” Alake said.

He declared that the ministry shall monitor the proceedings of the remaining 31 cases of terrorism against the Ansaru commanders. He added that the regulators of the mining sector have a lot to learn from these cases to improve capacity to counter illegal mining.

The Minister praised the Directorate of State Security Services (DSS) for the yeoman’s job of monitoring, detecting, and arresting terrorists to face the wrath of the law.

“We shall increase inter-agency collaboration to raise the tempo of surveillance to rid our communities of illegal mining perpetrated by bandits,” the minister stated.

Translated as the Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa, the Ansaru group is facing court charges for attacking the Nigerian Army Wawa Cantonment and raiding Kuje Prisons, Abuja in 2022, among other terrorist activities.

Recall that the Minister set up the Mining Marshals in 2024, a specialized tactical unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to combat illegal mining and improve the security of the sector.