Fresh concerns have emerged over the role of illegal mining in Nigeria’s deepening security crisis, following allegations that some Chinese-linked mining operators and their local collaborators may be indirectly financing terrorism and banditry in several parts of the country.
The claims were made by renowned journalist and political analyst, Farooq A. Kperogi, in a detailed commentary examining the links between illegal mining, armed violence and criminal networks operating across Nigeria’s mineral-rich regions.
According to Kperogi, illegal mining has become one of the hidden drivers of insecurity, particularly in communities where armed groups allegedly control access to mining sites and extort operators.
“The issue goes beyond ordinary criminality,” Kperogi argued, claiming that proceeds from illegal mining are believed to be feeding a wider network involving “bandits, foreign buyers, corrupt officials and criminal middlemen.”
He credited Professor Tade Aina, Senior Programs Director at the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, with drawing his attention to the connection between insecurity and mining activities during an African Studies Association conference in Atlanta.
While highlighting the mining-security nexus, Kperogi stressed that illegal mining is not the sole cause of Nigeria’s security challenges. He identified rural poverty, weak governance, climate pressures, arms trafficking and the collapse of local economies as additional factors driving violence across the country.
The analyst cited previous security studies which suggested that collaborations between politically connected Nigerians and some foreign mining interests had contributed to violent conflicts in parts of the North-West, North-Central and South-West regions.
He also referenced investigations alleging that mining operators in insurgency- and banditry-affected areas paid substantial sums to armed groups to secure access to mining locations.
According to the report, some local miners claimed that terrorists imposed heavy levies before allowing mining activities to continue, while others allegedly received regular weekly payments from operators.
Kperogi described the situation as one in which criminal groups have effectively established their own taxation systems in territories under their control.
“While villagers struggle to farm or move freely because of insecurity, mining operations often continue uninterrupted,” he noted, raising questions about the relationship between armed groups and certain mining operators.
The commentary further cited reports on Nigeria’s solid minerals sector which alleged that illegal trading networks involving foreign buyers, shell companies and armed criminal groups were depriving the country of significant revenue.
Some of the reports claimed that foreign buyers, particularly Chinese actors, exert considerable influence over mineral pricing and export channels, even as illegal mining remains widespread in regions affected by terrorism and banditry.
For balance, Kperogi acknowledged that the Chinese government has repeatedly denied allegations linking its nationals or companies to the financing of terrorism through mining operations.
The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria previously dismissed such allegations as “completely baseless” and maintained that it has “zero tolerance” for illegal mining activities involving Chinese companies.
Kperogi emphasized that the issue should not be interpreted as an attack on China but rather as part of a broader criminal economy involving foreign interests, local collaborators and powerful networks benefiting from regulatory weaknesses.
He called on the Federal Government to treat illegal mining as a national security emergency and intensify efforts to uncover those behind mining licences, mineral exports and financial transactions connected to the sector.
Among his recommendations were the publication of beneficial ownership records for mining licences, stricter oversight of mineral exports, prosecution of corrupt officials and stronger diplomatic engagement with countries whose nationals are repeatedly implicated in illegal mining allegations.
He also urged security agencies to shift attention beyond artisanal miners and focus on financiers, exporters and other influential figures allegedly profiting from the illicit trade.
“Nigeria’s abundant mineral resources should serve as a source of national development rather than a means of financing violence,” Kperogi stated, warning that military operations alone may be insufficient to end terrorism and banditry unless the economic networks sustaining insecurity are dismantled.
