Nigeria losing billions as illicit financial flows dominate solid minerals sector

Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is facing renewed pressure as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative NEITI warned that illicit financial flows are depriving the country of huge revenues and weakening investor confidence.

Musa Sarkin Adar, Executive Secretary, NEITI, said Nigeria accounts for about 35% of Africa’s total illicit financial flows, with the extractive industries responsible for 93% of the leakages.

He spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of a research report and policy dialogue on addressing illicit financial flows in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, organised with the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice ANEEJ and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Adar described illicit flows as one of the biggest governance threats confronting Nigeria’s economy, stressing that losses from illegal mining, under reporting of exports, tax evasion, and weak oversight continue to undermine the sector’s ability to deliver sustainable growth.

He said the research highlights major institutional gaps, including poor integration of solid minerals data among mining regulators, revenue authorities, and border agencies, which reduces the government’s capacity to monitor production volumes, track exports, and block illicit transactions.

Adar noted that Nigeria’s commitment to implementing the 2023 EITI Standard places stronger emphasis on tackling corruption risks and illicit flows through enhanced disclosure across the extractive value chain, including license allocation, beneficial ownership transparency, export reporting, and inter agency data sharing.

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He said NEITI would work with partners to ensure the report’s recommendations translate into concrete reforms capable of repositioning the solid minerals industry as a stronger contributor to national development.

In a goodwill message, Bola Shotunde, Chief Operating Officer Law Enforcement Support and Coordination Sector at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit NFIU, said illicit financial flows continue to undermine revenue mobilisation in resource rich economies such as Nigeria.

She said vulnerabilities in the solid minerals sector exposed it to abuse by criminal actors and facilitate laundering of illicit proceeds, stressing that Anti Money Laundering, Counter Terrorist Financing, and Counter Proliferation Financing controls must be embedded from licensing and production through trading, exports, and payments.

Shotunde said Nigeria’s recent exit from the FATF Grey List and subsequent delisting from the European Union list of high risk third countries showed the gains possible through coordinated national action, but warned that the solid minerals sector will attract increased scrutiny ahead of the next AML mutual evaluation.

She disclosed that the NFIU had created an Extractive and Environmental Crimes Section to generate proactive intelligence and support investigations into offences linked to illegal mining, corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing, and environmental crimes.

Stakeholders were, however, urged to deploy the findings of the research as a framework for stronger reforms aimed at blocking illicit financial flows, strengthening accountability, and unlocking the full economic potential of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

Ruth Tene, Assistant Editor, Agric/Solid Minerals/INEC

Ruth Tene is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years experience in developmental reporting across several newsrooms, as a reporter, editor and other managerial roles. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from the University of Maiduguri among several other certifications

She has attended several trainings and certifications both locally and internationally and has been recognized for her impactful work in humanitarian reporting, receiving the Gold Award for Humanitarian Services from the Amazing Grace Foundation. She is also a recipient of the Home Alliance Fellowship, reflecting her commitment to fostering a more humane, safer and more sustainable planet.

An active member of professional journalism bodies, Ruth is affiliated with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), and the Agricultural Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ACAN), where she continues to advocate for excellence, ethical reporting, and development-focused journalism.

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