By Oluwole Ojewale and Freedom Onuoha
Nigeria’s mining sector is diverse in mineral resources that make a significant contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product. The country is endowed with an estimated US$700 billion in commercially viable minerals, giving it the capacity to diversify its revenue sources and boost foreign exchange earnings. Minerals include barite, bitumen, iron ore, lead, zinc, coal, limestone and gold.
However, the mining sector faces multiple challenges. Its poor performance can be attributed to various factors including opaque extraction, insecurity and organised crime.
Nigeria’s natural resources have been exploited by foreign criminals for decades, and the extractive sector is the most recent target. Since early 2020, several Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nigeria for their involvement in illegal mining.
In April 2020, police in Zamfara State arrested two Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in the Bukkuyum locality, where the federal government had banned all mining activities to curb killings by armed bandits. In September 2022, a Chinese national was arrested by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives in Ilorin, Kwara State, in possession of a truckload of minerals suspected to be lepidolite.
Policy inconsistencies have created disorder across mining sites and activities
In July last year, the EFCC arrested 13 more Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in illegal mining. A month later, an illicit mining ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
