Nigeria, Nov. 21 -- The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has dismissed allegations by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Mineral Exploration, Security, and Anti-Money Laundering that it has failed to cooperate with an ongoing probe into illegal mining across the country.

Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Vivian Okono, in a statement on Thursday, said the claims made by the committee's chairperson, Sanni Abdulraheem, were inaccurate and did not reflect the Ministry's actual engagement with the legislature.

Mr Abdulraheem, on Wednesday, summoned the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, and the Director-General of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), alleging that both institutions had shown reluctance...