A joint report by Nigeria's extractive industries transparency watchdog NEITI and the civil society organisation ANEEJ, funded by the UK government, has found that illicit financial flows in Nigeria's mining sector are driven by a combination of foreign buyers, shell companies, illegal mining operations, official corruption, and cross-border smuggling. The report was published in May 2026.
Foreign buyers — identified in the report as predominantly Chinese actors — are alleged to exert disproportionate influence over pricing, purchasing arrangements, and export channels, negotiating directly at mine sites. The report contends that this enables the systematic undervaluation of minerals, manipulation of grades and weights, and informal payment arrangements that circumvent formal revenue channels. Foreign companies frequently obscure beneficial ownership through shell entities registered under Nigerian law, using local proxies to obtain licences and permits, a practice the report describes as facilitating trade misinvoicing and money laundering.
Despite holding at least 44 commercially viable minerals, Nigeria's mining sector contributed only 0.72% of GDP, 0.28% of government revenue, and 0.75% of exports in 2023. By comparison, oil and gas accounted for 29% of revenue and 82% of exports in the same period. Nigeria's Financial Intelligence Unit has classified illegal mining as an emerging threat to both the economy and national security.
An estimated 80% of mining activity in North-West Nigeria is illegal, with activity rising sharply between 2022 and 2024 in areas affected by banditry and terrorism. The report noted a growing overlap between some Chinese-linked commercial interests and local conflict dynamics in the region. The May 2025 conviction of four Chinese nationals in Plateau State — each sentenced to 20 years with asset forfeiture — is described as an exception rather than a pattern of enforcement. Nigeria's Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the Chinese Embassy in Abuja did not respond to requests for comment.
