Claim: Niger State Governor Umaru Bago recently claimed a UNICEF report predicted that by 2027, there would be no male child in Grade 7/JSS1 in Shiroro and Munya local government areas because children had left school and gone into artisanal mining.
Verdict: False.
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UNICEF told PREMIUM TIMES it did not conduct or commission a study on the impact of artisanal mining on children’s school attendance in Shiroro or other Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Niger State.
Full Text
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago recently claimed that a UNICEF report projected that by 2027, some areas of the state would have no male children in Grade 7/JSS1 because children had left the classrooms to engage in artisanal mining.
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Mr Bago made the statement during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme on 20 September.
The interview came amid public concern over the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners, who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
The suspected miners were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state on 15 and 16 September.
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According to Channels Television, 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were taken into custody, while 37 later died. The circumstances surrounding the deaths are under investigation.
Speaking about the impact of mining on communities, Mr Bago said: “We know that gold mining in Niger State has become habitual. The UNICEF report on Shiroro Local Government and Munya Local Government says that by 2027 there will not be a single male child in Grade 7/JSS1. You know? Because all of them are into artisanal mining, and all of them have left classrooms, and they are not in schools. And this is a problem for us.”
Channels Television also reported the governor’s comments, quoting him as saying that a UNICEF report predicted that by 2027 there would be no child in Grade 7/JSS1 because all of them had gone into artisanal mining and left the classroom.
PREMIUM TIMES decided to fact-check this claim because of the source, the alleged author, the media outlet’s influence, and the topic’s relevance to public interest.
Verification
Given the specific attribution to UNICEF, PREMIUM TIMES contacted UNICEF Nigeria to establish whether it had conducted or commissioned a study on the impact of artisanal mining on children’s school attendance in Shiroro and Munya LGAs in Niger State.
The organisation was also asked to identify the report Mr Bago referred to and clarify whether it projected that by 2027 there would be no male children, or no children, in Grade 7/JSS1 because of involvement in artisanal mining.
Responding through its Communication Specialist, Samuel Kaalu, UNICEF Nigeria said it had not conducted or commissioned such a study.
“UNICEF has not conducted nor commissioned a study/report on the impact of artisanal mining on children’s school attendance in Shiroro Local Government Area, or other LGAs in Niger State,” Mr Kaalu said in an email to PREMIUM TIMES.
He, however, noted that UNICEF funded a study titled “The Impact of Insecurity on Access to Education in Katsina, Zamfara and Niger States.”
According to Mr Kaalu, UNICEF supported the Niger State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to conduct the study.
“The study covered Shiroro, Munya and Rafi LGAs and examined the effects of insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, attacks on schools and communal conflict, on school attendance and continuity of learning,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES reviewed the report, which was published in July 2025.
The report was prepared for the Ministries of Education of Katsina, Zamfara and Niger states, with funding from UNICEF.
Its disclaimer states that while UNICEF funded the study, the views, interpretations and conclusions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of UNICEF or the state ministries of education.
The report examines how insecurity, including conflict, school attacks, banditry and communal clashes, has affected access to education and continuity of learning in the three states.
Shiroro is among the three Niger State LGAs covered by the study, alongside Munya and Rafi.
The report also discusses mining activities in Niger State in the context of conflict and disruption to education. It notes that the discovery of mineral deposits, particularly gold, has contributed to tensions in some communities and that qualitative evidence indicated that mining-related developments had led some families to withdraw children from school and relocate.
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However, the report is not a study UNICEF specifically commissioned or conducted on artisanal mining and children’s school attendance.
Perhaps more importantly, PREMIUM TIMES found no statement in the report supporting the governor’s assertion that, by 2027, no male child would be in Grade 7/JSS1 because all male children were engaged in artisanal mining and had left school.
Meanwhile, the report noted that boys, though affected by violence, are more prone to being recruited by armed groups or forced into child labour when displaced.
Conclusion
Governor Bago’s claim that a UNICEF report predicted that by 2027, there would be no male child in Grade 7/JSS1 in Shiroro and Munya LGAs because children had gone into artisanal mining and left school is false.
UNICEF told PREMIUM TIMES that it had not conducted or commissioned a study on the impact of artisanal mining on children’s school attendance in Shiroro or other LGAs in Niger State.
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