Nigeria made the world focus on oil, pipelines, refineries and the endless theatre around crude. But beneath that noise another story unfolded — quieter, less televised, and far less accounted-for: gold. From Zamfara’s secret shafts to small pits in Niger and Osun, tonnes of bullion appear to have slipped through formal systems and national ledgers. The result? Oil remained the distraction; gold became the silent extraction. This post pieces together the latest developments, official steps, and investigative threads to show how gold has been extracted, trafficked and, in many cases, exported without the same public scrutiny or transparent accounting that oil receives.
Where the gold is — and why it matters
Northern and southwestern Nigeria have long been known to host gold-bearing geology. States like Zamfara, Niger and Osun contain artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites where local communities have worked gold for decades. But unlike oil — which leaves a paper trail (licences, export receipts, government royalties) and a high-visibility political economy — gold in Nigeria has often been informal, unprocessed and poorly monitored. That informal structure makes it vulnerable to smuggling, exploitation and capture by organized actors — whether criminal, commercial or political.
Recent policy shifts and reporting confirm two uncomfortable truths: illegal and undeclared gold flows out of Nigeria in substantial volumes, and until very recently government capacity to formalize and trace those flows was limited.
The 2019 ban and the quiet market that grew
In 2019 the federal government halted mining activities in Zamfara — a security-driven move aimed at cutting off funding streams for armed banditry allegedly tied to illicit mineral sales. The ban and subsequent no-fly restrictions were framed as security measures; their effect on the gold economy was mixed. While the ban curtailed some visible operations, it also pushed mining further underground and made it easier for middlemen and external buyers to operate with even less accountability. Investigations and follow-ups suggest that gold continued to be extracted and transported out of the state and region during and after the ban — often via informal cross-border routes or private air movements that left little official trace.
Where the gold went — smuggling routes and the UAE connection
A critical piece of the picture is the demand side: where buyers are and how smuggled gold is laundered into global supply chains. Multiple investigative outlets and industry monitors point to the United Arab Emirates — especially Dubai — as a major destination or transit hub for West African gold. Research shows that undeclared Nigerian gold flows to the UAE either directly or via transit countries like Niger, creating a valuation gap between what Nigeria officially records and what is actually extracted. Over a recent decade, undeclared flows from Nigeria could amount to many tens of tonnes — representing billions of dollars that never reached Nigerian coffers.
Recent policy moves and why they matter
Faced with the scale of informal mining and public pressure over insecurity, the Nigerian government has in recent years taken several measurable steps: lifting and re-imposing localized mining restrictions when security permits, launching regulatory reforms to revoke unused licences, and seeking international partnerships to formalize supply chains and enable legal export routes. For example, authorities announced a resumption of regulated mining in Zamfara after claiming improved security conditions — a move intended to bring mining back into formal oversight and reduce illicit flows. At the same time, the Central Bank and other agencies have begun negotiating legal “routes” and verification frameworks with buyers in the UAE to restrict illicit trade. These steps are necessary, but they are far from a complete fix.
Human cost and accidents: mining without safety nets
Gold’s escape from national books is not merely an accounting problem — it’s a human one. Informal pits collapse; miners die; communities are exposed to mercury and other toxic processing chemicals. Recent mine collapses and fatal incidents in Niger and Zamfara states underline the unregulated peril of ASM activity. When mining is pushed underground to avoid enforcement, safety standards vanish with it. That is both a public health failure and an indictment of the weak social contract around resource extraction.
The missing ledger: central bank reserves vs. extracted volumes
Data published by national and international economic trackers show Nigeria’s official gold reserves are modest compared with the scale of alleged extraction and smuggling. For policymakers, this poses a twofold challenge: tracking physical production and matching that to export and revenue reporting. Without transparent chain-of-custody, production figures can never be reconciled with exports — which invites corruption, under-declaration, and the loss of national value. Efforts to modernize reporting and require domestic processing or verified export certificates are key remedies many neighbouring Sahel countries are pursuing — and which Nigeria is beginning to consider.
Who benefits — and who loses?
If gold is leaving Nigeria without equitable benefit, several groups may be profiting:
Criminal networks and armed groups that buy or tax artisanal output.
Middlemen and informal buyers who purchase gold at the pithead and route it through transit hubs.
Foreign buyers who can convert informal bullion into refined ingots or jewellery, often after obscuring origin.
Corrupt local actors who may facilitate access to sites, permits or private air transport.
Those who lose are local communities (who see environmental harm and little development), the Nigerian state (lost royalties and foregone downstream value-add), and the wider citizenry (who miss jobs and industrial opportunities).
Policy recommendations — how Nigeria can reclaim control
1. Formalize ASM quickly but responsibly: registration, licenses, and technical support for safer mining and mercury-free processing.
2. Create verified export channels with traceability and third-party auditing; negotiate buyer-side obligations (e.g., in the UAE) for documentation and source verification.
3. Invest in local processing capacity — refineries or accredited smelting hubs — so raw gold can be refined and taxed within the region. West African examples show refineries reduce smuggling incentives.
4. Strengthen community protection and benefit-sharing so local areas see tangible infrastructure and services for legal mining.
5. Coordinate security and economic policy: suppressing mining without offering alternatives drives activity underground. Policies must marry security action with economic inclusion.
What investigative journalists and citizens should watch
Reported volumes of declared gold exports and destination countries (watch for sudden spikes or gaps).
Announcements of domestic refineries or public-private processing hubs.
Licencing revocations and the identities of license holders (who benefits when licences are reassigned?).
Bilateral memoranda with the UAE or other refining hubs on traceability and “clean” gold certification.
Final thought (call to action)
Gold’s story in Nigeria is a test of whether the country can translate natural wealth into public good. That requires transparency, local empowerment, and international cooperation — not just occasional headlines. If you care about resource justice, watch export data, demand public accounting of licences and revenues, and press for local processing facilities that ensure the value of Nigeria’s minerals benefits Nigerians first.
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