Atiku Offers Scholarship to Niger Teen Miner, Questions Artisanal Mining Crackdown

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has offered to support the education of Yusuf Aliyu, a teenage artisanal miner from a gold-producing community in Niger State whose video recently drew public attention. Atiku said the boy should be seen as a child with potential, not simply as an illegal miner. He argued that poverty and poor access to education push vulnerable young people into dangerous mining work. He also questioned why communities with valuable mineral deposits remain poor and called for artisanal miners to be registered, trained and integrated into the formal economy. Atiku linked the issue to the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Niger State, which are under investigation. The Federal Government has set up an independent committee and suspended officers involved while the cause of the deaths is examined. Atiku urged authorities to protect Yusuf and his family from intimidation as efforts are made to support his education.

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