A new investigative report has claimed that the growing insecurity across several mineral-rich states in Nigeria is being fuelled by powerful economic interests seeking control of the country’s valuable solid mineral resources.
The report, titled The Shadow Owners and released by the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE), alleged that illegal mining and gold smuggling cost Nigeria an estimated $9 billion annually while contributing to worsening food inflation and economic losses.
According to the report, armed bandits are only being used as operatives on the ground, while the alleged masterminds behind the illegal activities hide their identities through offshore shell companies.
The report identified Zamfara, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa and Benue as states where insecurity closely overlaps with large deposits of gold, lithium and uranium. It argued that the pattern suggests the violence is increasingly linked to competition for strategic mineral resources rather than being driven solely by ethnic, religious or farmer-herder conflicts.
It further stated that more than 1.3 million people had been displaced across the North-Central and North-West regions by early 2025, creating conditions that allegedly make illegal mining operations easier to carry out in abandoned communities.
Drawing comparisons with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the report warned that Nigeria risks following a similar path where armed groups control mining areas, minerals are smuggled across borders, and profits are diverted abroad instead of benefiting the country’s economy.
The report also questioned how displaced communities can exercise their legal rights under the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, arguing that insecurity has become a tool for emptying resource-rich communities and paving the way for illegal exploitation.
It estimated that billions of dollars are lost every year through the smuggling of gold and other minerals, alleging that some unregistered private aircraft are used to transport unrefined minerals to foreign destinations, including Dubai.
Beyond the direct financial losses, the report warned that insecurity has severely affected agricultural production in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, forcing many farming communities off their land. It said the decline in food production has added to inflation, making the rising cost of food a consequence of conflict and illegal resource exploitation.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, Dr. Dele Oye, criticised the Federal Government’s frequent foreign investment and diplomatic trips, describing many of them as expensive exercises that have produced little economic value.
In a separate policy paper titled The Cultural Key: Why Nigerian Businesses and Government Delegations Fail Abroad – and How to Master Cross-Cultural Commerce, Oye argued that many overseas missions end with photographs, ceremonial meetings and memoranda of understanding that rarely translate into tangible investments.
He attributed the poor outcomes to inadequate planning, weak understanding of international business cultures and poor implementation of agreements. Oye also criticised the size of many government delegations, saying excessive spending on travel should instead be directed toward technical preparation and effective follow-up.
He recommended mandatory cross-cultural training for official delegations, closer collaboration with Nigerians in the diaspora, stronger monitoring of agreements signed abroad and the creation of cultural advisory units across government institutions to improve Nigeria’s international business engagements.
