By Nike Ozioma
Senator Adams Oshiomhole representing Edo North in the National Assembly has accused some retired military generals and Chinese nationals of actively driving illegal mining operations in Nigeria and fueling the insecurity spreading across mineral-rich states.
Oshiomhole, chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, said illegal mining is no longer a scattered activity but a coordinated criminal network allegedly protected by retired generals who use their contacts and influence to shield the operations from law enforcement.
He said their involvement has crippled regulation and allowed illegal miners to operate freely in Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau and Taraba.
He also accused Chinese nationals of illegally extracting Nigeria’s mineral resources and arming bandits and terrorists who guard mining sites rich in gold, lithium and other valuable minerals.
According to him, these armed groups function as private militias for foreign operators, giving them unfettered access to mining corridors while communities suffer violence, displacement and environmental damage.
Oshiomhole warned that the country is losing billions of naira to illegal mining each year, with contaminated water, destroyed farmland and rising insecurity showing the scale of the crisis.
He said several security reports have linked the spread of arms in the North-West and North-Central to mining cartels that supply weapons to bandits in exchange for protection of mineral-rich areas.
He called on the Federal Government to immediately launch a coordinated investigation involving the DSS, EFCC, the military and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
He also urged stricter monitoring of foreign mining operators, insisting that Nigeria must overhaul its mineral governance system or continue to lose both revenue and lives.
As of press time, neither the military nor the relevant security agencies had responded to Oshiomhole’s claims.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has also remained silent. Civil society organisations have renewed calls for tighter regulation and a national audit of mining licences.
