Nigeria’s illicit lithium trade uncovered

Inside three weeks this yr, Oganyi Franklin made not less than N7.6 million from promoting illegally sourced lithium, a crucial mineral wanted for renewable power transition. He typically markets the supplies on social media, reminiscent of Fb and TikTok.

After promoting one batch, Mr Franklin appeared in a Fb stay video on his good friend’s web page on 28 February. Within the video, he held some whitish stones he recognized as “lithium kunzite.”

Mr Franklin, wearing a black T-shirt and jean hat, mentioned the minerals are “high-graded and well-sorted.”

He then panned the digital camera to point out his warehouse amongst some locked retailers in a market the place such supplies are brazenly offered in Bani, a restive lithium buying and selling group straddling Oyo and Kwara states.

He isn’t the one one concerned on this illicit enterprise, which the Nigerian authorities claims is costing it an enormous income loss. From mining to buying and selling, hundreds of Nigerians and foreigners are concerned within the unlawful lithium commerce. In 2023, the mining sector contributed lower than one per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Home Product (GDP).

Lithium, more and more in demand for batteries for energy storage, electronics and electrical automobiles, is now among the many precedence minerals for the Nigerian authorities, which is making an attempt to higher regulate the extractive sector after a few years of neglect and income losses.

Nonetheless, regardless of current crackdowns, lithium continues to be mined illegally, and far of that happens in Kwara and Nasarawa states, which function sources for on-line mineral distributors like Mr Franklin. Regardless of lithium being mined in lots of states throughout Nigeria, the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics doesn’t seize its export information within the nation’s official commerce numbers, suggesting illicit monetary flows.

A community of unlawful merchants

PREMIUM TIMES profiled over 20 social media handles advertising and marketing mineral assets primarily illegally sourced.

These social media handlers are members of the supply-and-demand Fb teams reminiscent of Lithium Ore Nigeria Provide and Lithium Mining And All mineral assets in Nigeria. They typically publish their merchandise, inviting consumers to talk with them through WhatsApp.

Posing as a purchaser, our reporter interacted with a few of the on-line merchants. He subsequently traced them to Kwara and Nasarawa states, the place the federal government had repeatedly arrested illicit miners, together with Chinese language nationals.

Two of the net merchants — Joshfa Monday and Mohammed Dadi — directed this reporter to Kakafu village in Lade, a city in Patigi Native Authorities Space of Kwara State.

Messrs Monday and Dadi would later refer our reporter to their contacts in Patigi. The latter’s contact individual, Usman, took our reporter on a Bajaj motorbike to the mining village, the place he noticed an unlimited land with numerous mining pits and some labourers on the village’s entrance.

“Issues should not like they was once,” Mr Usman grumbled as he rode by means of the sandy street resulting in Kakafu. “Previously, you’ll have seen trailers loaded with stones transferring out of this place.”

Mr Usman mentioned some labourers who dug the pits and “convey out the supplies” have moved elsewhere, “making our market decelerate.”

He would later give our reporter some samples of lithium varieties — lepidolite and kunzite — asking him to take them for a laboratory evaluation “to find out the standard” earlier than shopping for them in bulk.

Mr Usman informed our reporter he wouldn’t must return to Kwara. “As soon as the standard has been confirmed, simply name me and we’ll discuss transporting the supplies wherever you need.”

The unlawful mining enterprise was extra coordinated in Bani the place each nook of the restive lithium market is affected by mined minerals.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Adeshola Oladipupo, one of many on-line merchants who posted the supplies on his Fb deal with, he directed our reporter to Mr Franklin, whose face appeared within the video he posted on 28 February.

“[Ade]Shola was the one who posted my video on Fb,” Mr Franklin mentioned as he boasted of getting offered greater than two vehicles of lithium this yr. “I don’t publish on Fb, however I posted the video on my TikTok account.”

Mr Franklin mentioned his enterprise accomplice, Mr Oladipupo, “is aware of a little bit in regards to the enterprise and that’s the reason he all the time directs folks to me…”

PREMIUM TIMES’ findings confirmed that a whole lot of the minerals offered in Bani are illegally sourced from a forest between Igbeti and Soro villages across the Outdated Oyo Nationwide Park bordering Kwara State.

The multimillion-naira unlawful enterprise

Unlawful mining and buying and selling of lithium and different minerals is a multimillion-dollar enterprise in Bani.

A kilogramme of lithium prices between N682 and N700, in accordance with a market survey PREMIUM TIMES performed within the lithium market.

“Fifty kilogrammes are contained in a bag of lithium,” one of many merchants informed our reporter. “It prices between N34,100 and N35,000.”

Many on-line merchants we profiled on Fb supplied to promote the product per tonne at costs starting from N1 million.

Mustapha Dakata, a Nasarawa-based on-line dealer who makes use of his accomplice’s Fb account — Hajaar Abubakar — to market styles of lithium, pegged his value at between N600,000 and N1.1 million per tonne.

“A tonne of lithium lepidolite is N600,000,” he mentioned. “And a tonne of lithium spodumene is round N1.1 million.”

Mr Dakata would later give a reduction of N100,000 on lithium spodumene.

“We’re going to promote it to Chinese language folks at this value,” he mentioned, including that the minerals are saved in a warehouse in Nasarawa.

“We don’t go to the location in Nasarawan Toto for safety causes,” Mr Dakata defined when requested if he might take our reporter to the mining website. “The labourers and the villagers transport the supplies to us and we purchase, kind them, and retailer them within the warehouse.”

Kunzite is the favored number of lithium in Bani and a tonne goes for N680,000 or N700,000. A 12-wheel truck hundreds not less than 30 tonnes [600 bags] of lithium valued at N20.4 million.

Many of the minerals bought from Bani are transported to Abuja, Nasarawa or Shagamu in Ogun State, one of many merchants within the lithium market, Zephaniah Jonathan, informed PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Jonathan mentioned one would spend about N3 million transporting the supplies to any of those areas.

“A truck conveying the supplies from Bani to Shagamu would cost N1.5 million,” he mentioned, including that those that load the supplies would cost N5,000 per tonne.

Amongst those that posted on-line looking for to buy lithium had been Fb customers who claimed or gave the impression to be Chinese language and Taiwanese. PREMIUM TIMES profiled not less than 4 of them, however none responded to our request for feedback.

“I’m a purchaser from China,” 元歌 — Yuan Ge — introduced in a Fb group on 7 February 2023. “I want spodumene and lepidolite… Please contact me when you have the proper provide.”

His publish garnered greater than 20 likes and 25 feedback from the community of unlawful on-line merchants.

At press time, 元歌 had not responded to messages despatched through the WhatsApp line connected to his a number of Fb posts.

Yuan Clint, a Taiwanese, has persistently sought to buy styles of lithium by means of a number of Fb teams the place such minerals are marketed. In one of many posts the Taiwanese made final yr, he sought to purchase kunzite, spodumene, and lepidolite, amongst different strong minerals.

“We’re very critical and honest consumers, fascinated by long-time common purchase solely,” Yuan Clint, the supervisor of MIT Auto Tech, a Taipei-based firm included in 1999 in Taiwan, posted. He added that his firm operates two warehouses in Niger and Ogun states.

The Taiwanese didn’t reply to questions when contacted through his WhatsApp line. He subsequently blocked our reporter from reaching him.

Alleged fee of income to Oyo and Kwara states

A number of merchants in Bani informed our reporter that there are revenues every truck leaving the lithium market would pay to the governments of Kwara and Oyo states. In response to them, no receipts had been issued for these revenues.

“In Bani, you’ll pay N357,000,” Mr Jonathan continued. “Out of it, you’ll make a switch of N330,000 as income [to Kwara State government] by means of a POS operator. You’ll pay N10,000 at a police station earlier than Opa.”

Nonetheless, a switch receipt obtained from one of many merchants confirmed a Moniepoint Microfinance Checking account belonging to at least one POS operator, ISSA MAITABLE RESOURCES NIGERIA Ltd, because the beneficiary, not an official authorities account.

Mr Jonathan added {that a} group of job pressure out there will obtain N25,000 and “thereafter issued you a move.”

“If you’ll Ogbomoso by means of Igbeti Highway, you’ll be given two passes. You’ll give one to forest guards and the opposite one to civil protection officers earlier than attending to Ogbomoso,” he defined.

In March, this yr, the federal Ministry of Strong Minerals Improvement unveiled a 2,200-strong mine marshals to combat unlawful miners and all those that flout the nation’s mining legal guidelines.

The marshals had been drawn from the Nigeria Safety and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). “With a command construction unfold throughout the 36 states and the FCT, the mines marshal can have their command and management domiciled within the Ministry of Strong Minerals Improvement(MSMD), with an preliminary 60 operatives deployed in every state and the FCT,” the ministry had mentioned in assertion.

Nonetheless, the merchants who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES mentioned they may get their methods by bribing the safety operatives charged to clamp down on their unlawful enterprise, together with the NSCDC from the place the mine marshals had been drawn.

“At Opa village, you’ll pay one other N750,000 income to the Oyo State authorities,” Mr Jonathan mentioned, including the cash is paid in money.

In response to Mr Jonathan, truck drivers might must pay as much as N300,000 in bribes to freeway safety officers, relying on the route they take.

“If you happen to undergo Oko Olowo, you’ll spend about N300,000 to bribe safety [operatives] on the street. However you’ll not spend as much as that if you undergo Igbeti to Ogbomoso,” he defined.

Each the Kwara and Oyo state governments refused to remark when confronted with our findings.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Strong Minerals, Afeez Alabi informed PREMIUM TIMES he was simply deployed to the ministry “not very long time in the past.”

Mr Abolore who mentioned the ministry is preventing arduous to cease unlawful mining, defined that solely his administrators — Kunle Adimula and Isiaka Adeigbe — together with the everlasting secretary, Yinka Oloruko-Oba, might handle the income declare made by the unlawful merchants.

He would later prepare a convention name between our reporter, the administrators, and the everlasting secretary.

Mr Abolore and his colleagues mentioned they may solely provide explanations if our reporter might bodily meet them. They mentioned PREMIUM TIMES will even write to the ministry earlier than the assembly.

PREMIUM TIMES despatched an FOI request to the ministry on 30 September, requesting the ministry to supply an in depth rationalization inside seven working days as required by the regulation.

“I acted on the above doc the identical day it was acquired. It was despatched to the PS to be handled as acceptable,” the commissioner mentioned in a WhatsApp chat when our reporter despatched him a reminder on 7 October.

The commissioner additional condemned the seven working day deadline given to the ministry to reply to the FOI request. In response to him, our request “requires a radical investigation and a good time to report again on it. Past that, the FOI Act above referred to in your doc comes with authorized implications that require enter of our MOJ. So, brandishing deadlines on the ministry might not go down properly, please.”

That very same day, the commissioner, throughout an inter-ministerial briefing in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, disclosed that the state authorities is investigating [mining] income diversion.

“Our consideration was just lately dropped at this disturbing challenge, and we now have initiated a radical investigation. As soon as we now have concrete data, we’ll make it obtainable to the general public,” Mr Alabi mentioned.

Abiodun Oni, the director of Oyo State Mineral Improvement Company couldn’t be reached for remark. Calls positioned by means of his traces had been declined and a collection of SMS and WhatsApp messages despatched to him weren’t responded to.

The issue is improper construction — Ministry of Strong Minerals

When contacted, Segun Tomori, the media aide to the Minister of Strong Minerals Improvement, Dele Alake, mentioned the ministry is conscious that the nation’s assets are being plundered, however not conscious of the brand new sample of selling them on-line.

He blamed the issue on a poor construction that’s inefficient to correctly regulate the mining sector.

Mr Tomori believes that the challenges would quickly be curbed “with the continuing technique of amending the 2007 Minerals and Mining Act and establishing Nigeria Strong Mineral Cooperation.”

“When we now have that physique, it’ll correctly supervise and information all these items,” he mentioned.

This story was sponsored by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Improvement (CJID) below its Simply Vitality Transition Minerals Problem Mission.