Impact of illegal mining on environmental security in Plateau State, Nigeria: A case of Water Safety and food Security

Abstract

Mining is globally recognised as a driver of economic development; its unregulated and illicit forms have generated profound environmental, food security, and socio-economic consequences in resource-rich but institutionally fragile contexts. Illegal mining has emerged as a critical internal security challenge in Nigeria, particularly in Plateau State, where decades of mineral exploitation have increasingly intersected with environmental degradation, food insecurity, and communal violence. This study engaged Structural Conflict Theory to examine environmental security of illegal mining in Plateau State, Nigeria, with specific focus on its influence on water safety and food security. The study adopts qualitative research design, relies on content analysis of secondary data drawn from peer-reviewed journal articles, official government reports, security assessments, and environmental studies relevant to illegal mining in Plateau State. Findings reveal that illegal mining severely compromises water safety through toxic heavy metal contamination including lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, and cobalt microbial pollution, and bioaccumulation in aquatic life, with empirical studies confirming water quality parameters exceeding WHO and Nigerian safety standards across mining-affected communities in Butura, Jerek, Jos South, and Barkin-Ladi. Regarding food security, the study found that illegal mining encroaches on arable land, contaminates irrigation sources, displaces farming households, and diverts agricultural labour to mining activities, collectively reducing food production and undermining rural livelihoods. These findings validate Structural Conflict Theory, which explains how weak regulatory frameworks enable extractive activities to degrade environmental resources at the expense of community well-being. The study concludes that illegal mining operates as a dual threat, eroding water safety and destabilising food systems, thereby reinforcing cycles of environmental insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment in mining-affected communities. It recommends the establishment of continuous water quality monitoring programmes, remediation of abandoned mining ponds, implementation of a mining-agriculture land-use demarcation framework, and agricultural livelihood restoration programmes for displaced farmers to mitigate the environmental security threats posed by illegal mining in Plateau State.