EFCC Targets Financiers, Buyers in Crackdown on Illegal Mining

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has vowed to intensify its campaign against illegal mining by targeting the financiers, buyers and other individuals supporting the unlawful exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the agency would focus on dismantling the criminal networks behind illegal mining rather than limiting enforcement to arrests of workers found at excavation sites.

He spoke on Tuesday at a public lecture and capacity-building workshop organised by the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies and the Human and Environmental Development Agenda in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Olukoyede explained that illegal mining operations were sustained by sophisticated networks involving local and international actors who provided funding, facilitated transportation and documentation, purchased illegally extracted minerals and offered protection to operators.

He said the commission’s strategy would therefore involve identifying those who finance the activities, benefit from the proceeds or use public positions to facilitate them.

The EFCC chairman disclosed that the commission recorded 52 illegal mining cases between October 2023 and July 2026, securing the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals during the period.

He clarified that the EFCC was not the regulatory authority responsible for issuing mining licences, explaining that its involvement centred on investigating corruption, fraud, money laundering, illicit financial flows and proceeds of criminal activities.

According to him, financial investigations are critical because illegally extracted minerals eventually generate proceeds that pass through bank accounts, businesses, payments and asset acquisitions.

Olukoyede also linked illegal mining to security challenges, warning that unregulated mineral extraction and trading could facilitate extortion, smuggling, violence and territorial disputes.

He cautioned that public officials who compromised their positions to facilitate illegal mining, manipulate licences or launder proceeds would also face investigation.

The EFCC chairman called for stronger cooperation among mining regulators, financial intelligence institutions, law enforcement agencies, customs authorities and revenue agencies to improve intelligence sharing and coordinate investigations.

He further urged traditional institutions, community associations, youth groups and civil society organisations to establish channels for reporting suspicious mining activities.

Olukoyede reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to investigating financiers and facilitators, recovering criminal assets and prosecuting suspects based on evidence, stressing that Nigeria’s mineral wealth should benefit its citizens rather than criminal networks.