Niger State Governor's Claim About Boys in School is Not True

Claim: Niger State Governor Umaru Bago said 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 to work in artisanal mining.

Verdict: False.

UNICEF told PREMIUM TIMES it did not do or ask anyone to do a study on how artisanal mining affects children's school attendance in Shiroro or other local government areas in Niger State.

Full Text

Niger State Governor Umaru Bago recently claimed that a UNICEF report said that by 2027, some areas of the state would have no male children in Grade 7/JSS1. He said this is due to children leaving school to work in artisanal mining.

Mr Bago made this statement during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme on 20 September.

This interview took place after public worry over the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners 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.

According to Channels Television, 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were taken into custody, and 37 of them later died. The reasons behind the deaths are still being looked into.

While discussing the effects 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

Since the claim was specifically linked to UNICEF, PREMIUM TIMES reached out to UNICEF Nigeria to find out if they had done or ordered a study on how artisanal mining affects children's school attendance in Shiroro and Munya LGAs in Niger State.

They were also asked to identify the report Mr Bago mentioned and clarify if it stated that by 2027 there would be no male children or no children at all in Grade 7/JSS1 due to artisanal mining.

Responding through its Communication Specialist, Samuel Kaalu, UNICEF Nigeria said it had not done 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 did mention that UNICEF funded a study called “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 carry out the study.

“The study covered Shiroro, Munya and Rafi LGAs and looked into how insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, attacks on schools and communal conflict, has affected school attendance and learning,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reviewed the report 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 and conclusions in the report belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect UNICEF's official views or those of the state ministries of education.

The report looks into how insecurity, including conflict, school attacks, banditry and communal clashes, has affected education in the three states.

Shiroro is one of the three Niger State LGAs covered by the study, along with Munya and Rafi.

The report also talks about mining activities in Niger State in terms of conflict and education disruption. It mentions that finding mineral deposits, especially gold, has caused tensions in some communities and that some families have pulled their kids out of school and moved away due to mining activities.

But the report is not a study UNICEF specifically ordered or did on artisanal mining and children’s school attendance.

Most importantly, PREMIUM TIMES found no statement in the report backing the governor’s claim that, by 2027, there would be no male child in Grade 7/JSS1 because all male children were involved in artisanal mining and had left school.

The report noted that boys, while affected by violence, are more likely to be 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 is false.

UNICEF told PREMIUM TIMES that it had not done or commissioned a study on the impact of artisanal mining on children’s school attendance in Shiroro or other LGAs in Niger State.