Benue State, Nigeria’s food basket, is now a battleground for mineral wealth. As lithium, zinc, and gold deposits attract Chinese and Nigerian firms, local miners pay the price, buried alive in pits, blinded by explosions, and abandoned with paltry compensation. Meanwhile, the state government profits from illegal operations it claims to have banned.
- Buried Alive: 28-year-old Vincent Kananfe was crushed in a mining pit collapse, leaving his family with just ₦100,000 ($67) in compensation.
- Blinded and Abandoned: Sughter Gyase lost an eye in a blasting accident; his employer vanished after paying ₦30,000 ($20).
- Empty Promises: Mining firms pledged schools and hospitals but delivered cracked homes, poisoned water, and forced displacement.
- State Complicity: Despite a 2024 ban, Benue officials collect ₦1 million per truck of smuggled minerals, fueling illegal mining.
- No Justice: Families of the dead and maimed have no recourse, with miners evading accountability and government officials remaining silent.
- Mmenshima, Kananfe’s widow, suffers trauma-induced insomnia, screaming nightly: “It’s not happening!”
- Byer Azenyi, who lost his son in a pit collapse, struggles to feed his grandchildren: “If he were alive, things would be different.”
- Peter Penda’s community was driven out by bandits while miners continued stripping their land.
Should Nigeria prioritize mineral wealth over farmers’ lives, or is a total mining moratorium needed until safeguards are in place?
