Illegal Mining and the Farmer-Herder Conflict
Edited by Mary Crickmore, 12 February 2026
One factor in the violence in Nigeria that affects majority Christian communities is illegal mining. When examined closely, we have seen that many of the worst conflicts are in areas where mineral resources are most plentiful. For example, one of the earliest and most egregious of modern attacks involving Fulani was at Godo Godo in Sanga LGA--where in 2014 or so, some of the richest nickel deposits in the world were discovered just under the surface throughout the area--some said huge chunks of nickel were actually laying on the ground to be picked up. https://www.naijnewsalert.com.ng/2021/03/investigation-nickel-discovery-and-el.html The price of nickel on the world market spiked 50% around that time, and the Kaduna State Government tried to take over the land by eminent domain. However, the local people resisted strongly and the plan went nowhere--until 2016, when there was a huge attack on the area that killed 50-100 people and the populace went into IDP camps. https://www.csw.org.uk/2016/10/19/news/3309/article.htm At the time it was said that Fulani herdsmen initiated this violence. But we question whether it could be related to control of the nickel.
A Whole Truth Nigeria member personally knows some officials in Miyetti Allah who were involved at the time in trying to settle the Godo Godo conflict, and who saw the situation first-hand, particularly the retaliatory attacks on Fulani--which ended up including the deaths of a number of Fulani Christians in the area.
Similar situations exist in Southern Plateau and Southern Kaduna/Northern Niger State (Shiroro) with regard to lithium mining https://mathewtegha.com/nigerias-chinese-lithium-connection-a-deep-dive-into-illegal-mining-and-its-impacts/, https://theelectricityhub.com/global-rush-ignites-interest-in-nigerias-34bn-lithium-reserves/ and in Sokoto/Zamfara with regard to gold mining https://dailytrust.com/after-sokoto-discovery-gold-has-no-hiding-place/, https://issafrica.org/iss-today/foreign-criminals-go-for-gold-in-nigeria
Anyway, you get the picture. Mining and 'murderous Fulani herdsman' are '5 and 6' in Nigeria's violence, though of course the 'herdsmen' know little about the mining. Seems obvious they are being used to clear land, and then discarded to their fates. Another issue exacerbated by government policies is access to water. The Fadama National Development Project has encouraged more people to farm the lowlands along rivers and streams--and the only way for cows to get to water is through the farms. More conflict!
Our anonymous WTN member went to Washington, DC several years ago under an international religious freedom organization. and met with congresspeople, religious freedom ambassadors, denominational groups, etc, to try to help them understand the other side of the story they were hearing--but they couldn't process it. "That's not what we're hearing on the ground," they said. Our longtime worker's reply was, "What you hear depends on who you ask. How many Fulanis have you interviewed?" Well none, of course, because they don't have access to the media!