As violence continues to stalk communities across Northern Nigeria, a coalition of security experts has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently confront what they describe as the economic underbelly of banditry: illegal mining, particularly in Zamfara State.
The call was made on Sunday in Jos, Plateau State, following a one-day retreat convened by the Arewa Patriotic Neighborhood Watch (APNW).
Addressing journalists, the group warned that without decisive action against illicit mining networks, security operations across the North would continue to face structural limitations.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the Convener of APNW, Dr. Danlami Shehu, alongside the Assistant Secretary, Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed, said illegal mining activities have persistently undermined the efforts of security agencies to curb banditry and related crimes.
According to them, armed groups operating around mining locations often enjoy protection arrangements that make such sites inaccessible to conventional security operations, thereby sustaining cycles of violence.
In their briefing, the experts urged the Federal Government to review past official reports and investigations into illegal mining in Zamfara State, including those that have mentioned political actors, stressing that revisiting existing findings could provide a roadmap for addressing insecurity.
They referenced past reports that have linked illegal gold mining in Zamfara to the financing of armed groups, while emphasizing that these documents warrant transparent and conclusive government action.
“Senator Abdulaziz Yari, right from when he was the Governor of Zamfara State, up till now that he is a serving Senator, has been frequently implicated in reports linking him and other high-level political figures to the illegal gold mining industry in Zamfara, which is considered a major driver of regional banditry”, the experts said.
The group maintained that as long as illegal mining thrives, bandit groups would retain a strategic advantage, noting that the control of mining corridors has become central to the conflict economy in parts of the North-West.
Dr. Shehu recalled that under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government imposed a ban on illegal mining activities in Zamfara State in April 2019, citing security concerns.
According to him, “Illegal mining of gold has been fingered as the main cause of the recent atrocious turn of insecurity in Zamfara State. The federal government, under late President Muhammad Buhari, announced a ban on illegal mining in the state in April 2019, saying there was a ‘strong and glaring nexus between the activities of armed bandits and illicit miners, with both mutually re-enforcing each other’.
“The then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu also issued an order that ‘all foreigners within mining sites are to leave immediately’, as the police launched ‘operation puff-adder’ in the government’s attempt to crush the banditry. Despite Federal Government policy, illegal activities persisted, often under the protection of armed groups who make it impossible for security agencies to penetrate the mining sites.
“The Institute for Security Studies and various reports, both national and international, indicate that the massive banditry in Zamfara is fueled by gold mining, with proceeds often used to buy arms.
“Since the battle for the gold of Zamfara has taken a new turn due to external and internal collaborations to steal state resources, Gold mines are now Blood mines. The gold extracted illegally in Zamfara is transported via flights from forests to Middle Eastern countries, and sometimes to Sudan and Cameroon, to be sold. These are known facts and there are reports which linked Senator Yari to all of these. But why is the federal government turning blind eyes to those reports?
“In 2021, there was a Ghana Gold Report which linked Yari to seized gold bars worth millions of dollars in Ghana. There are other reports, including the one carried out by a serving Member of this 10th House of Representatives. Why is the government not revisiting these, to properly address insecurity in the north?
“In 2022, the ICPC secured an interim order to forfeit 10 properties linked to Senator Yari to the Federal Government, alluding that they were ‘proceeds of corruption stemming from illegal activities’, including that of mining. Even as a sitting Governor, it was in the news everywhere that Yari was always being scrutinized by law enforcement agencies. And when he won senatorial election in 2023, he quickly rushed to court and secured an order restraining EFCC, ICPC and DSS from arresting him.
“But the next month, the DSS arrested and detained him for almost one week. Why has the secret police not told Nigerians their findings? Why the Federal Government not taken up the matter with the view to putting lasting solutions to the insurgencies in the north? Can a single man be more powerful than the government?”
Contributing, Alhaji Ahmed, a native of Zamfara State, said the impact of illegal mining extends beyond security, affecting public health, livelihoods and state revenue.
He said, “Zamfara State is strangulated by its politics. Its health is disturbed by the ineptitude of its past and present leadership. Over the years its economy is defined by huge illegal mining for gold by the political class, especially Senator Abdulaziz Yari, while the government watched without acting, observing a dark cloud of violence descends on the people by the activities of illegal miners and militias.
“In March 2010, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders warned the world that an estimated 400 children died from lead poisoning in Zamfara. The cause of the poisoning is unsafe mining activities. The mass poisoning affected villagers in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Anka, Bukkuyum and Maru.
“Even Senator Yari himself had admitted previously that, over $500 million was generated annually from mining without significant funds entering the state’s coffers. He was able to know this because he leads a very powerful cartel in the illegal mining business which even the current state governor knows.
“Although Yari has always denied these allegations, but the intersection of his governorship, the rise of banditry during his tenure, and the massive illegal mining operations has led to sustained scrutiny. All the time, various security agencies would arrest him and release him the next moment. Nigerians deserve to know what is happening. Our people back home are really suffering the heat from these illegal activities and those of the bandits. But then, they cannot voice out, perhaps, for fear”.
Ahmed further recalled that he and other Zamfara indigenes participated in a protest in Abuja in 2019 against insecurity and illegal mining, an action he said drew the attention of the Federal Government at the time.
As of the time of filing this report, Senator Abdulaziz Yari was unavailable for comment. He was said to be attending an award ceremony in Ibadan, Oyo State. The Senator has, however, on several occasions in the past, publicly denied all allegations linking him to illegal mining activities, as previously reported in the media.
