U.S. Lawmakers Link Chinese Illegal Mining to Terror Financing in Nigeria. Congressional Bill Claims Chinese Miners Are Paying Fulani Militias for Protection.
By Ebere Inyama
( Abuja – Federal Capital Territory) As part of arguments outlined in a new bill before the U.S. Congress, five Republican lawmakers have argued that Chinese nationals involved in illegal mining operations in Nigeria are paying terrorist groups for protection.
The lawmakers — Riley Moore, Chris Smith, Bill Huizenga, Brian Mast, and Mario Diaz-Balart — made the claims in the proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026.
“The Secretary of State should work with the Government of Nigeria to counteract the hostile foreign exploitation of Chinese illegal mining operations and their destabilizing practice of paying protection money to Fulani militias”, section 3 subsection 11 of the bill read.
The bill comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the United States and Nigeria over allegations of religious persecution. Over the past year, several US lawmakers have accused Nigeria of tolerating what they describe as a campaign of Christian genocide — a claim the Nigerian government has consistently denied.
Reports from the Media
The bill is coming barely 10 months after a British newspaper, The Times, reported that Chinese mining firms had funded Nigerian militant groups to get access to the country’s mineral reserves.
Earlier in January 2025, a Senator representing Edo North at the National Assembly, Adams Oshiomole, accused some retired Nigerian army officers of conniving with certain Chinese nationals to provide arms for militant groups and engage in illegal mining of gold in some parts of Nigeria.
An investigation carried out by WikkiTimes in September, 2023 alleged that Chinese-affiliated miners engaged with members of a terror faction led by Dogo Gide to secure access to mining sites in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. An audio recording cited in the report purportedly captured negotiations before operations began.
“These Chinese companies are perfectly willing to pay off whoever needs to be paid off and have no qualms about it…,” Ikemesit Effiong, SBM’s head of research, had said.
In an earlier interview with TruthNigeria, a mineral entrepreneur, Dr. Ogbu Andrew, disclosed that “local Nigerian companies often serve as fronts for Chinese investors, with ownership hidden behind a maze of entities registered in Europe or elsewhere and this makes it challenging to pinpoint who truly benefits from Nigeria’s mineral wealth”.
Denials by China contradicts reports from Nigerian
In a statement issued on Thursday 13 February 2025, the Chinese embassy in Nigeria expressed dissatisfaction with the claims made by the lawmakers regarding mining activities in Nigeria.
“We express our firm opposition and strong dissatisfaction, and request that the relevant media immediately cease spreading such false information,” the statement read in part.
Earlier in April 2023, the Chinese Embassy had objected to The Times’ report, which linked Chinese mining firms to Nigerian militant groups, calling it “unverified, unclear and unproven information”.
Despite these denials by the Chinese government, several Chinese nationals have been arrested and in some instances, jailed for engaging in illegal mining activities in Nigeria.
In July, 2023, 13 Chinese nationals were arrested by the Nigerian security operatives for their involvement in illegal mining in Kwara state, according to a report by Punch and in July 2025, Business Day reported that 7 Chinese were among those arrested for illegal mining in Akwa Ibom state.
Earlier in May, 2025, a Nigerian court sentenced 4 Chinese nationals to five years in prison for involvement in illegal mining according to TRT Afrika.
Analysts weigh in
“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 earlier interview.
“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.
$9 Billion lost annually to illegal miners
Speaking during the inauguration of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Illegal Mining held on 9 October, 2025, the Chairman, Sanni Abdulraheem, described illegal mining as “a scourge that undermines national revenue, fuels criminality, and degrades the environment.”
“It is estimated that Nigeria loses approximately $9 billion annually due to illegal mining activities”, Abdulraheem said.
This theft of our resources that should be enriching our nation has gone on for far too long, and it is time to put an end to it,” he added.
Ebere Inyama reports for TruthNigeria on conflict.
