Gold, guns, and greed: How Chinese nationals fuel illegal mining and banditry in Zamfara State

By Kalu Okoronkwo

In the dust-coated plains of Zamfara State, where golden soil should have meant prosperity, a sinister plot has steadily poisoned the land. Zamfara is rich; not in infrastructure or development but in precious minerals, particularly gold.

For years, this wealth remained untapped or mismanaged, until a sudden influx of artisanal miners, both local and foreign, brought chaos and greed. Whispers persist of a foreign figure, a man simply known as Mr. Tang, a Chinese national whose presence in Nigeria has become synonymous with secrets, suspicion, and suffering.

Little is officially known about Tang: no full name on public records, no media interviews, no traceable online footprint. Yet in the rural mining fields of Zamfara, his name rings with raw authority.

His link with illegal mining and armed violence provides critical insight into the broader insecurities engulfing Zamfara and neighboring Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.

However, if the petition by the Concerned Citizens of Zamfara state presently before the Hon. Minister of Environment with copies to the Chairman of the EFCC, Director of the DSS and the National Security Adviser is anything to go by, Mr. Tang may soon be telling the authorities all he knows about the going on in illegal mine fields in Zamfara state as he is a person of interest   within security circles  and the communities in Zamfara State.

He has been linked to the twin evils of illegal mining and armed banditry that have turned Zamfara into a region under siege. It was said that Mr. Tang’s early activities in Zamfara were cloaked in academic and technical garb as he conducted surveys and developed connections with key actors within the mining space. While his interactions at the time (1999 to 2007) remained largely undocumented, they laid the groundwork for his subsequent ascent to the gold mountains of Zamfara State.

His role rapidly evolved from researcher to resource exploiter. By 2007, Mr. Tang had already repositioned himself at the intersection of politics and minerals deposits, manipulating the system for pecuniary benefits.  What began as a covert relationship between Mr. Tang and state actors later grew into full-scale complicity, enabling him to operate with impunity and disregard for both law and the lives of those affected by the environmental consequences of illegal mining.

The rush for opportunity soon descended into bloodshed. Bandits were armed with sophisticated weapons and roam freely, terrorizing villages, kidnapping civilians, and killing those who stand in their way. The widespread of terrorists’ activities in Zamfara State and environs which were widely reported in the media, both locally and internationally, is not a random chaos, it is organized, funded, and sustained by a lucrative underworld where gold meets guns.

Mr. Tang over the years have grown into a Capone, whose word was law around mining fields and communities.  To him, everyone has a price tag and with the huge dollars coming from his illegal merchandise in gold, he bought his way even up to the highest echelons of leadership. His unchecked activities have exposed the weaknesses of regulatory institutions and the willingness of political actors to trade public safety for personal gain.

According to documented report by the Concerned Citizens of Zamfara State, dubious activities by Mr. Tang started when he initially arrived in Zamfara without much fanfare, presenting himself as an independent researcher with interest in mapping mineral deposits. During this period, his interaction with the administration of the then Governor Alhaji Ahmad Sani Yeriman remained largely undocumented, although it is widely acknowledged that his presence and intentions were known to some within the government.

While he showed little visible interest in exploration at the time, he quietly gathered extensive data on the mineral-rich backgrounds of Zamfara State. Unfortunately, there was no institutional accountability, no transparency, and no official documentation to verify what exactly Mr. Tang was doing during these early years. His dealings were shrouded in secrecy, and the absence of proper oversight allowed him to uncover how to monopolise access to vast mining sites with near-total impunity.

Using a network of local proxies, Tang has allegedly secured control of the gold-rich land of Zamfara through bribes, backdoor deals, and brute force. Artisanal miners, many of them desperate youths, are paid meager wages to extract gold, which is then smuggled out of the state—often bypassing official trade channels.

It was said that Tang’s transition from researcher to illegal miner was not immediate but certainly deliberate. It was during the administration of Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi between 2007 and 2011 that Mr Tang’s activities gained a more structured and state-supported form. Documented evidence shows that under Shinkafi’s administration, a contract worth over two million dollars was awarded to Mr. Tang to procure mining equipment through a newly established company, Shenzhen Investment Group Co Ltd.  Submissions are rife that within the official circles that the company was formed at the instance of Mr Tang and was jointly owned with 70% ownership for Zamfara State Government and 30% for Mr Tang’s investment group.

However, after substantial part of the contract money was disbursed, there is no documented evidence proving that Mr. Tang ever supplied the promised equipment. Shenzhen Investment Group Co Ltd quickly became a tool of corruption and economic sabotage, with Mr. Tang using this company as a vehicle for continued illegal mining activities posing as a legitimate business as his activities were neither environmentally regulated nor federally licensed.

“For avoidance of doubt, there are documented evidences including official correspondences, detailed bank records that captured lodgments into certain accounts and the intrigues that unfolded both before and after the shady deals. These evidences will be made available in the forthcoming revelations” the petitioners alluded.

Perhaps the most devastating consequence of Mr. Tang’s unregulated activities was the outbreak of lead poisoning in Anka and Bagega communities. The health disaster, which attracted international attention, was traced to illegal mining practices that ignored environmental safety protocols. Yet, Mr. Tang faced no repercussions, shielded by the very officials who were meant to protect public interest, the report said.

During this period, Mukhtar Lugga, who served as the Commissioner for Environment under Governor Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari between 2011 and 2019, emerged as a key enabler of Mr. Tang’s operations. Lugga, who currently serve as the Chief of Staff in the government of Governor Dauda Lawal, was allegedly aware of and complicit in these activities. He is reported to have worked closely with Mr Tang, despite petitions submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission detailing their collusion.

Reports also had it that following the end of the Yari administration, Governor Muhammad Bello Matawalle, who served from 2019 to 2023, set up a Project Verification Committee led by late Alhaji Ahmad Zabarma. The committee’s findings clearly indicted Mr Lugga and exposed the depth of financial and environmental damage orchestrated by Mr Tang. Notably, Tang refused to appear before the committee, fleeing the state while still owing millions of dollars in unaccounted mining funds.

Despite these damning revelations, the current administration of Governor Dauda Lawal has welcomed Mr Tang back into the state. Masterminded by the Chief of Staff Mukhtar Lugga and Secretary to the State Government Abubakar Nakwada, Mr Tang’s return was arranged during a visit to China, where these officials acted as an advance party prior to the Governor’s arrival. With no fresh licence and no proper scrutiny, Tang has resumed operations at mining sites previously shut down due to lead poisoning.

The return of Mr Tang to Zamfara State poses a direct threat to both the environment and public health. His activities, previously linked to lead contamination and the displacement of rural communities, are once again being conducted with complete disregard for federal mining laws and environmental safeguards. There are renewed fears that another wave of poisoning, similar to the tragic events in Bagega, may be imminent.

But Tang’s influence doesn’t stop at mining. Intelligence sources and community leaders believe he plays a pivotal role in sustaining the armed groups that protect these illegal operations. Security agencies have long suspected a disturbing exchange: weapons for protection, gold for silence. Bandits operating in Zamfara are no longer ragtag criminals—they are now well-armed militias equipped with AK-47s, motorbikes, satellite phones, and surveillance drones.

Reports suggest that Mr. Tang provides the financing or direct supply of arms, often trafficked through neighboring countries through porous borders. In return, these armed groups ensure the uninterrupted operation of his mining sites, while also destabilizing communities that might resist or attract too much government attention. The true cost of this conspiracy is counted in lives lost, villages torched, schools abandoned, and thousands displaced. Families who once tilled the land now live in IDP camps, caught between hunger and horror.

Children are forced into child labor in the mines or drafted into armed gangs. Environmental damage caused by unregulated mining—especially lead poisoning—has killed hundreds and poisoned water sources across communities. In 2010 alone, an outbreak of lead poisoning in Zamfara led to the deaths of hundreds of children, with more than 400 children estimated casualties.

Despite numerous government crackdowns and military operations, the problem persists. Locals say every time one illegal mine is shut down, another springs up, often with better weapons and deeper protection. Mr. Tang’s gold doesn’t stay in Nigeria. It finds its way into international markets, often laundered through neighboring countries before being refined and sold globally.

While Zamfara bleeds, someone else profits. In essence, Tang has helped turn parts of Zamfara into a war economy—where fear and poverty are tools, and gold is the reward. International watchdogs have started to raise alarm over the sourcing of gold from conflict zones like Zamfara. Yet, the global supply chain remains largely unregulated, and perpetrators like Tang continue to operate under a cloud of diplomatic protection, corporate denial, and government inertia.

For Zamfara, the future is uncertain. There are growing calls for a complete overhaul of mining laws, tighter border control, and prosecution of both local and foreign collaborators. But without political will, coordinated international pressure, and real investment in local development, the region risks becoming permanently a failed zone—a place where gold will forever be soaked in blood.

As for Mr. Tang, he remains at large—operating from the shadows, quietly pulling the strings of a tragedy that stretches far beyond Nigeria’s borders. Until he and others like him are exposed and held accountable, the triad of gold, guns, and greed will continue to choke Zamfara’s soul.

Kalu Okoronkwo, a leadership and good governance advocate writes from Lagos and can be reached via kalu.okoronkwo@gmail.com