With the world moving towards renewable energy, Nigeria’s lithium reserves are becoming more and more important, especially for power storage systems and batteries for electric vehicles. Nonetheless, a significant portion of the nation’s lithium is extracted illegally, which worsens environmental damage and costs money.
The states of Kwara and Nasarawa are home to a large number of illegal lithium mining operations, where miners—many of them are unregulated laborers—extract lithium from trenches in isolated settlements. These illegally obtained minerals are now being promoted through social media sites like Facebook and TikTok. On these networks, dealers openly promote lithium items to prospective customers, circumventing legal channels. One well-known participant in this illegal trade is Oganyi Franklin.
The administration of Nigeria The government’s response to the millions-dollar illegal trade has been sluggish. For example, Franklin claimed to have sold two truckloads of lithium kunzite so far this year. Traders have established sophisticated networks to transfer lithium to warehouses in urban locations such as Abuja, Shagamu, and Nasarawa, even in the face of government crackdowns. The fact that certain traders, such as Mustapha Dakata, operate out of warehouses because they are concerned about security at mining sites makes it more difficult to track down the sources of these goods.
Additionally, dishonest behaviour by local government and security personnel supports the illegal trade. In order to transfer their goods, traders in the states of Kwara and Oyo report paying illegal revenues to government authorities; bribery is also prevalent along transportation routes.
The solid minerals development ministry has acknowledged the pervasive theft of Nigeria’s wealth, but it also highlights the absence of appropriate regulatory frameworks. The nation’s mining laws are now being amended, and a new organisation to regulate the industry is being established by the government. But without big changes and stronger enforcement, Nigeria could lose even more of its precious mineral resources to the black market, which would make it harder for the country to make the transition to a more sustainable and regulated mining sector.
