The Nexus between Illegal Mining and Internal Security Erosion in Zamfara State, Nigeria (2015–2025): Stakeholder Perspectives on Drivers, Impacts and Policy Responses

Abstract

Illegal mining in Zamfara State has evolved from a livelihood strategy into a driver of environmental degradation, public health crises, and armed banditry, undermining internal security across Nigeria’s northwest. Drawing on primary data from a structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview with key stakeholders (senior government officials and security personnel with between 20 and 30 years of local experience in Gusau LGA), this article examines the causes, multi-dimensional consequences, and security linkages of illegal mining. Findings reveal strong stakeholder consensus that poverty, unemployment, corruption, foreign involvement, and elite protection rackets are primary drivers. Mining sites are perceived as ungoverned spaces controlled by armed groups that extract illegal taxes and barter gold for weapons, directly financing banditry and kidnappings. Environmental and health impacts, lead poisoning, water/soil pollution, and farmland destruction, exacerbate displacement and food insecurity. Government interventions (2019 mining ban and 2021 no-fly zone) are viewed as largely ineffective due to enforcement gaps and complicity. The study, framed by resource curse and political ecology theories, recommends integrated formalisation of artisanal mining, community economic alternatives, and stricter anti-corruption measures. These insights offer timely, evidence-based pathways for disrupting the mining-insecurity cycle in fragile resource frontiers