Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole, has reiterated his claim that some retired military generals are working with foreign entities to illegally extract Nigeria’s solid minerals.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time Show on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, Oshiomhole clarified that his accusation was not a blanket statement against all retired generals but a targeted claim based on credible information.
“It’s not sensible to say all retired generals are involved in illegal mining. That would be a reckless, sweeping generalization. What I said—and I stand by it—is that some retired generals are involved. And somehow, as a nation, we are not deploying the same force to protect our solid minerals as we do for oil in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Oshiomhole revealed that his assertion is backed by a report from a retired general who personally witnessed foreigners stealing Nigeria’s natural resources with the help of some ex-military officers. According to him, he had urged the retired general to document his findings in a two-to-three-page report, which he then submitted to former President Muhammadu Buhari during his tenure.
“There is no way I can fully comprehend this story because I have no military or secret intelligence training. So, I pleaded with him to summarize his observations in two or three pages, which I would submit to the President. This was at a time when I was the national chairman of the ruling party,” Oshiomhole recounted.
He noted that the report warned that unchecked illegal mining could escalate into a security crisis worse than the insurgency in the Northeast. To ensure the issue was taken seriously, he advised the retired general to include his phone number in the report so that President Buhari could contact him directly for more details.
“I handed over the report to the President and said, ‘Sir, go through it; it is self-explanatory. If you wish, you can call him, and he will provide you with more graphic details of what he saw and his fears about what could happen if this is not tackled urgently.’”
Oshiomhole maintained that illegal mining on such a large scale would be impossible without the involvement of powerful figures within the country.
“It is absolutely impossible for foreigners, especially those from outside Africa, to come to Nigeria, locate specific sites rich in solid minerals without being geologists, start mining, and take the resources away without the knowledge of some powerful Nigerians,” he asserted.
Despite these concerns, Oshiomhole acknowledged that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has begun addressing the issue with the recent deployment of mining marshals to secure mining sites across the country.
