Nigeria’s illegal gold trade – elites and bandits are working together

Oluwole Ojewale, Institute for Security Studies

Illegal mining activities in Nigeria are devastating the country’s economy, as well as fuelling violence.

Strategic minerals mined in the country’s north-west region include granite, gypsum, kaolin, laterite, limestone, phosphate, potash, silica sand and gold.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has estimated that the legal mining sector contributed N814.59 billion (US$527 million) in 15 years. Earnings were highest in 2021.

Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, asserted in late 2024 that powerful individuals engaged in illegal mining were sponsoring banditry in the country. Recently, Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole also alleged that retired military officers coordinated illegal mining activities nationwide.

In a recent paper I examined the links between banditry, gold mining, violence and elite collusion in two states in the north-west of Nigeria.

My research involved qualitative interviews with 17 respondents from 11 gold mining communities of Katsina and Zamfara states. The individuals included miners, community leaders, commercial drivers, residents and security agents.

They told me that bandits colluded with elites to engage in illegal gold mining and undermine peace. The paper also analysed how the elites weaponised access to mineral resources and the impact this had on violence in the region. I looked at the state’s response to illegal gold mining too and offered some reflections on pathways to durable peace.

The history

My study shows that for more than four decades, gold mining has been done by wealthy and influential people in communities. Intense competition between the owners of the mine fields led them to hire bandits to guard their mine fields from their competitors.

This pattern has become entrenched over the past two decades. My study shows that minefield owners today provide bandits with weapons, arms, drugs, food and logistics. In return, the armed groups protect their gold pits.

A number of the wealthy mine owners wield influence in local politics. Some research participants also said there were miners who were working for politicians and traditional rulers and that a number of politicians had acquired gold mines.

Interviewees also said that some individuals were employed by influential figures in government or business. They however did not mention names of the influential government figures for safety reasons.

Violence arises from competition over mining locations, funding of armed groups’ activities, and taking control from civilians.

With access to funds, bandits can expand their influence, recruit new members and carry out attacks.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data I drew on, 1,615 incidents and 4,201 deaths were recorded due to banditry from 2010 to 2023 in Katsina and Zamfara states.

How it works

Generally, gold trading in Nigeria occurs within a network of buyers, sellers and brokers, forming a small ecosystem compared to other commodities. Most participants in the gold market are familiar with each other.

My study respondents said criminals involved in illegal mining had strong connections in the gold market, both domestically and internationally. The transnational supply chain of the illicit economy extends through Chad, Niger, Libya and Algeria.

Foreign networks also operate in the criminal supply chain.

Bandits sell gold to gold merchants and traders. Some of these traders are business elites from other states in Nigeria who typically sell the gold in the Diffa region in Chad, or in Agadez (Niger), Tripoli (Libya) and Algiers (Algeria). Some gold traders transport the mineral to Benin.

What can be done

The government’s handling of the illicit gold trade and banditry has consistently fallen short of what is needed. This is clear from the government’s failure to adequately monitor the actions of miners.

Mining sites are supposed to be overseen by the government, ensuring that only licensed miners and ancillary service providers are active there. But this isn’t happening.

Based on my findings, I make the following recommendations if there is to be a lasting solution to banditry and the criminal gold mining economy in Nigeria’s north-west.

Firstly, it requires enforcing the law and strengthening accountability.

Large areas of north-west Nigeria are ungoverned. The federal government should enhance border policing and law enforcement capabilities by upgrading security and intelligence gathering infrastructure.

Nigeria should also introduce advanced contraband-detection technologies, such as spectroscopy, at land borders. These techniques analyse the chemical composition of materials. They can identify specific substances and detect trace amounts of contraband.

And individuals with ties to illegal gold trade and supporting criminal activities must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted.

Secondly, it requires reforming the gold mining and security sector. The mainstay of Nigeria’s economy is oil production in the country’s Niger Delta. One of the consequences is that other sectors of the economy have been largely neglected. The mining sector is not well regulated and the state doesn’t show much interest in it.

Thirdly, any steps taken by the government must involve the participation of people living in the affected communities. The security agencies can foster community partnerships to source human intelligence on the activities of bandits, illegal miners and mineral smugglers.

Lastly, the government should consider tackling elite collusion through targeted sanctions and asset freezing. This could disrupt their ability to finance and perpetuate violence.

This approach has been used in Nigeria and in South Africa, among other countries in the world.

Oluwole Ojewale, Research Fellow, Obafemi Awolowo University, Regional Coordinator, Institute for Security Studies

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.