A TruthNigeria Investigation
By Truth Nigeria staff
Those seeking the major players in Nigeria’s lucrative illegal mining industry need look no further than local officials and elected governors, TruthNigeria has learned.
“For every Chinese arrested for illegal mining, there are Nigerian politicians and village chiefs behind them, the Vice Chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Mr. Ado Adamu, told TruthNigeria in an exclusive chat.
“I can tell you that politicians and village chiefs are responsible for illegal mining in Zamfara State. It is in the law that no one can come to the state and prospect for minerals without the consent of the community through its chiefs,” Adamu said.
“The politicians who are already in possession of the details and areas where mineral deposits are found would always furnish the foreigners with all the necessary information and then urge the village chiefs to give approval for the foreigners to commence mining activity without the consent of the villagers,” Adamu added.
Mr. Ado Adamu, Vice Chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria. Courtesy of Ado Adamu.
Zamfara’s Controversial History of Corrupt Mineral Extraction
Zamfara’s reputation as a go-to state for mineral theft has been covered in broad contours by the Nigerian media, but forensic study of how the theft is arranged are rare. Also rare are prosecutions of those arrested.
Former Zamfara Governor Abdulaziz Yari is an infamous looter of his state’s minerals . He stands accused by the officials of Zamfara, a state he had governed of profiteering from illegal Mining by setting up fictitious companies.
The Auditor General of the state revealed how the former governor of Zamfara State engaged into illegal mining despite the presidential order banning all forms of illegal mining in the state during his administration. The Governor floated companies that were involved in illegal mining despite the Federal Government ban on mining.
Nigeria’s former military Head of State, General Abdulsallam Abubakar and a former Minister of Defense, Aliyu Gusau, are among politicians named as belonging to the cartel who are heavily benefiting from illegal gold mining .
One of Nigeria popular Newspaper, the Blueprint Newspaper revealed on April 14 2019 in an opinion article titled – Untold Story of Gold Mining In Zamfara .
On April 14, 2020, two Chinese nationals were arrested and paraded by the Nigerian Police Force for mining illegally in Bukuyum County. Local authorities in Zamfara said the Chinese citizens came with over one hundred illegals from the Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali to conduct their illicit business.
However, after their arrest, nothing was ever heard of them.
How the Powerful Get Permits from the Federal Government?
Mining Association chairman Adamu, who was also the past chairman of the Zamfara State Association of Gold Buyers and Sellers for ten years, revealed how the federal government unknowingly has aided politicians in illegal mining activities.
Politicians who are normally armed with letters of recommendation from state governors where gold or solid minerals are mined would approach the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals for special permits, and once the permits are given, the illegal activities commence in earnest, according to Adamu.
Then, the politicians would approach merchants who have mines but could not work them due to the Federal Government’s ban on mining.
“At times, the mines are simply worked on without the approval of the owners,” Adamu said.
Though Adamu refused to divulge the names of those he thought to be behind illegal mining in Zamfara, Dr. Usman Hamisu Balami (a miner in Anka County) told Truth Nigeria that former governors in the state were involved illegal mining.
Politicians involved in illegal mining activities
“On April 15, 2020, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to place a total ban on mining in Zamfara state in order to checkmate illegal mining and the violence crime linked to it,” Balami said.
left: former Zamfara Gov. Abdulaziz Yari, photo by Mike Odeh Akatu.
Right: Former Zamfara Gov. Bellow Matawalle, courtesy of Facebook.
“Cronies of the former Governor of Zamfara State, who is now a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mohammed Bello Mutawalle, took advantage of the situation and confiscated mine fields or coerced mine owners to lease their fields to his cronies or lose them,” Balami said further.
The former governor, after securing a federal government ban on illegal mining, floated bogus mining companies and got the approval of the Federal Ministry of Mines to start mining activities in the state despite the ban on mining, according to Balami.
Despite the ban, if you were very influential and powerful, Abuja would give your company a special permit to prospect for or mine gold, bauxite, manganese, or copper, according to Balami.
“He (the former governor) approached several miners (using his proxies) who have large mining fields and asked them to partner with his organizations so that they could mine either gold, bauxite, manganese, or copper. I was among those approached, and the message from his emissaries was that I should join them, or my mining site would be confiscated by the state government,” Balami said.
“In October 2020, we were promised 40 percent of what is mined from these sites. However, when said time came, we were taken to the State Government House and told that the Governor would not partner with us anymore but would prefer to buy the gold or other minerals at 10 percent,” Balami said.
Balami further stated that “he would buy our mining sites for half of their worth if we wanted to sell.”
Another miner, Shamsudeen Sani, complained to another media outfit that the former governor also attempted to seize his gold mine in Talata Marafa County of Zamfara State.
The boss of Talata Marafa, who was an appointee of Governor Mohammed Mutawalle, had seized his gold mine, Shamsudeen told reporters on August 11, 2020. “After I threatened a court case and went to the press, I was given a summons to go to Government House for settlement.
After then, I was asked to cooperate with them in order to get an amicable settlement, Shamsudeen told TruthNigeria.
Truth Nigeria staff in Zamfara tried to contact Zailani Bappa, the media spokesman to former Governor Mutawalle but there was no response.
Similarly, all attempts to get the response to the series of allegations against Senator Abdulaziz Yari were not successful as the Senator did not respond to phone calls .
