Ex-US Army Captain Blames Schoolgirls’ Abduction, Terrorism On Illegal Mining

A former United States Army Captain, Bishop Johnson (Rtd), has stated that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, particularly the recent abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State and the assassination of Brigadier General Uba Muhammed, are all driven by a “commercialised criminal enterprise” centred on the illicit mining of the nation’s mineral resources.

Johnson, who spoke on Channels Television on Tuesday, dismissed claims that Nigeria’s security had improved, insisting that the country was trapped in a network of powerful criminal interests benefiting from instability.

“I don’t think Nigeria’s security has improved, and I don’t think designating the country as a country of particular concern is the reason why we saw this abduction,” he said.

“The truth is that what is happening is that Nigeria is in a web of commercialised criminal enterprise centred around illicit mining of Nigeria’s minerals.”

Johnson explained that criminal groups operate in collaboration with influential local and foreign actors, deliberately creating chaos in mineral-rich regions to enable illegal mining activities to thrive.

“There is a web of criminal entities working in cohorts to create a dangerous environment in states where you have natural endowment, so they can come and illicitly mine,” Johnson said.

According to him, Nigeria’s security architecture remains largely reactive rather than preventive, allowing criminal networks to stay several steps ahead of law enforcement.

“Unfortunately, Nigeria is only reacting after the crime has taken place; the effort we are putting into preventing crimes is minimal,” he said.

“We will continue to move in cycles because the entities involved will continue to throw everything at the wheels of security progress in Nigeria so they can continue to commit crimes.”

Johnson also questioned whether the government had thoroughly examined the ecosystem of actors fuelling insecurity, noting that some of those benefiting from the crisis are individuals and institutions entrusted with national protection.

“I doubt that the government has taken time to study who is contributing to it, because they involve people that we depend on to defend Nigeria,” he said.

Contrary to speculations that political tensions ahead of the 2027 elections could be linked to rising violence, Johnson said the insecurity was not driven by electoral calculations.

“I won’t attribute this to the political season because the election period is still far,” he stated.

He alleged that foreign interests also sponsor criminal gangs as a diversionary tactic to gain unfettered access to Nigeria’s mineral deposits.

“There are foreign entities financing these criminal gangs so they can have a free hand to mine our minerals without much opposition from our government,” he added.

The retired U.S. Army captain further argued that insecurity had become an industry in Nigeria, with various actors, including state officials, retired military officers, local leaders, and foreign collaborators, reaping economic benefits from the chaos.

“Insecurity in Nigeria has become a business,” he said.

“If you are a governor, the more insecurity you have in your state, the more your security votes. There are retired military personnel owning mining blocks that are involved in this, there are community leaders that benefit from it, and there are foreign governments whose citizens connive with governments and neighbouring countries to continue benefiting from illicit mining.”