Gold-For-Arms Trade Fuelling Terror In North-West, Investigation Shows
An investigation by Daily Trust has revealed how the illegal gold-for-arms trade is intensifying terrorism and banditry across Nigeria’s North-West region, with billions of naira worth of gold being exchanged for weapons through international smuggling routes.
According to the report, Nigeria loses over $9 billion annually to illegal mining, with a significant portion of that loss linked to the gold sector.
In Zamfara, regarded as the epicentre of illicit mining, armed groups control vast mining fields and trade the proceeds for arms, fuelling widespread insecurity.
One of the key figures identified in the report is Kachalla Mati, the successor to slain bandit leader Halilu Sububu, who reportedly generates as much as ₦300 million weekly from illegal gold mining activities in Zamfara.
The proceeds are allegedly used to purchase weapons or exchanged directly for arms through cross-border networks.
Investigations further revealed that much of the gold extracted in Zamfara and neighbouring states is smuggled across Nigeria’s borders, particularly through routes leading to Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad, where it enters a black market that facilitates the exchange of gold for firearms.
Security experts quoted in the Daily Trust report warned that the thriving illegal mining economy has become a major source of funding for armed groups, making counter-terrorism efforts more difficult.
They called for tighter border control, stronger regulation of the mining sector, and collaboration with international partners to disrupt the gold-for-arms supply chain.
The Federal Government had earlier banned mining activities in Zamfara in an attempt to curb banditry, but reports suggest that illegal operations have continued under the protection of armed groups who tax local miners and traders.
As violence continues to escalate in the North-West, analysts say dismantling the economic lifeline of these criminal groups particularly the gold-for-arms trade remains critical to achieving lasting peace in the region.
