The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that it recorded 52 illegal mining cases between October 2023 and July 2026, leading to investigations, prosecutions and convictions, while securing the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
Ola Olukoyede, the EFCC Chairman, disclosed this on Tuesday in Ilorin while delivering a keynote address at a public lecture and capacity-building workshop organised by the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies in collaboration with the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).
Speaking on the theme, ‘Uprooting the Roots of Resource Theft: A Zero-Tolerance Approach to Mining Corruption and Increasing Insecurity in Nigeria,’ Olukoyede identified illegal mining, corruption and resource theft as major threats to Nigeria’s economic growth and national security.
He said Nigeria’s vast deposits of gold, lithium, tin, lead, zinc, columbite and other valuable minerals had the potential to transform the economy but were being undermined by corruption, illegal exploitation and insecurity.
According to him, illegal mining is not merely the activities of individuals operating without licences but involves organised networks of financiers, buyers, transporters, compromised officials and beneficiaries of illicit proceeds.
He stressed that the EFCC’s strategy was to dismantle the entire criminal network by tracing the financial transactions and assets linked to illegal mining rather than concentrating solely on operators at mining sites.
Olukoyede explained that although the commission was not responsible for issuing mining licences or regulating the sector, but it intervened where corruption, fraud, money laundering, illicit financial flows and proceeds of crime were suspected.
The EFCC chairman warned that illegal mining could fuel insecurity through extortion, smuggling, violence, territorial conflicts and the financing of other criminal activities.
He called for stronger collaboration among mining regulators, security agencies, financial institutions, customs authorities and revenue agencies, particularly through intelligence sharing, joint investigations and coordinated enforcement.
Olukoyede also urged traditional rulers, community associations, youth groups and civil society organisations to support efforts to expose suspicious mining activities.
He emphasised the need for transparency and accountability in the mining sector, noting that organised labour and the media had important roles to play in promoting lawful mining practices, decent employment and protection of host communities.
The EFCC chairman assured that the commission would continue to investigate financiers and facilitators of illegal mining, trace illicit proceeds, pursue criminal assets and prosecute suspects based on evidence.
He maintained that Nigeria’s mineral resources must benefit its citizens, stressing that the fight against resource theft required collective commitment from both state and non-state actors.