A recent
report by The Times, a British national daily, has revealed that some Chinese
nationals working in Nigeria’s mining sector may be funding terrorist groups in
the country. The report suggests that through bribes and illegal transactions,
China may be indirectly supporting terror in Nigeria, the largest economy in
Africa.
According to
the exclusive report, some Chinese nationals working as informal miners in
Zamfara State serve as runners for militant groups in the region and other
parts of northwestern Nigeria. These Chinese companies working in areas where
attacks are frequent have reportedly struck security deals with insurgents.
Attacks on Chinese citizens in Nigeria have become regular occurrences in
recent years amid the country’s many conflicts.
The report
cites research from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based analytical group, which has
revealed videos on social media and WhatsApp of militant leaders boasting that
they are so powerful that Chinese workers wishing to operate in their areas
must pay them “rent”. They have reportedly taken over swathes of
northwest Nigeria, turning the region into the country’s bloodiest conflict
zone.
Furthermore,
in one pocket of Zamfara State, researchers found that interaction with
militants runs so deep that some serve as runners for Chinese miners who have
spread throughout Nigeria, controlling digs for gold. Nigeria reportedly has
some of the largest gold reserves in the world. These Chinese workers often
operate informally in small groups as contractors registered to clearing-house
companies, speaking local languages and living in remote areas for years at a
time.
The Times
report also suggests that Chinese mining contractors in Nigeria often pay a
pittance to locals working on their fields and smuggle minerals out of the
country illegally, leading to their arrest at times. In 2020, 27 miners,
including 17 believed to be Chinese, were arrested in Osun State. Last October,
a Chinese citizen, Gang Deng, 29, was jailed for five years after being found
with 25 tonnes of a mineral thought to be lepidolite, containing lithium, which
is used in batteries.
The SBM
Intelligence research also found Chinese workers involved in the Boko Haram
conflict in Nigeria’s northeast, with a case of a Chinese smuggler being paid
to help a jihadist group move metal ore out of the country. These findings suggest
that Chinese nationals in Nigeria’s mining sector may be supporting terror
groups in the country, leading to concerns about the country’s national
security.
