The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has disclosed that foreign nationals apprehended for illegal mining activities and suspected to be linked to terrorism have been handed over to the Office of the National Security Adviser for further investigation.
Alake made the revelation on Friday while fielding questions from Channels Television at an event in Abuja on claims by some US lawmakers linking illegal Chinese mining to terrorism funding in Nigeria.
Though he did not specify the number of foreign nationals handed over to the NSA, Alake further disclosed that over 327 persons, including foreign nationals, have been apprehended for illegal mining, with about 142 of them currently facing prosecution and about 3,000 mining licences revoked.
He attributed the successes recorded, including the revenue generation of the solid minerals sector from N6 billion in 2023 to over N70 billion as of December 2025, to President Bola Tinubu’s strategic transformation of the solid minerals sector.
The minister asserted that, given the victories in the solid minerals sector as well as other sectors in the country, President Tinubu’s reforms will overcome decades of corruption and weak institutions in Nigeria.
Addressing stakeholders and industry players in the solid minerals sector, the minister charged them to have the right mental attitude and develop a social conscience in order to move the sector to far greater heights.
Late last year, President Bola Tinubu lamented the continued plundering of mineral resources, which he said is undermining West Africa’s stability, calling for the designation of resource theft and illegal mining in the region as an international crime that threatens regional stability.
