*Hon Musa Sarkin Adar, NEITI Executive Secretary*
Executive Secretary of the
Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) , Hon Musa Sarkin Adar, has commended a research carried out on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Sector, saying it aligns with the mandate the agency.
He spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at the Public Presentation of Research Project and Policy Dialogue on addressing Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Sector. The event was organized by the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) in collaboration with NEITI and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD)
The Executive Secretary noted that the research aimed to present key findings and policy recommendations on illicit financial flows in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, provide a national platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue, identify critical policy, legal, and institutional reforms to strengthen transparency and accountability, and promote synergy for coordinated anti-Illicit Financial Flows actions.
Hon Adar stated that the relevance of the research is further reinforced by Nigeria’s commitment to implementing the 2023 EITI Standard, which places stronger emphasis on addressing corruption risks and illicit financial flows in extractive industries. The Standard calls for enhanced transparency across the entire extractive value chain, including license allocation, beneficial ownership disclosure, production and export data, revenue collection, and inter-agency data sharing.
Hon Adar explained that the report also underscored the limited integration of solid minerals data across government institutions, including mining regulators, revenue authorities, and border agencies. The weakness, according to him,
reduces the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement and weakens the state’s ability to detect and prevent illicit financial practices.
He reiterated NEITI’s commitment to collaborate with partners like the African Network to ensure that the outcomes of this dialogue translate into concrete reforms. Our shared goal is to build a solid minerals sector that is transparent, well-governed, and capable of contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development.
Hon Adar added that the 2023 EITI Standard recognises that transparency is a critical tool for exposing the structural weaknesses and opacity that enable illicit financial flows. It encourages countries to use EITI disclosures to identify risks, inform reforms, and strengthen collaboration among oversight institutions.
The Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, while giving a welcome remark at the event
stressed that despite the vast mineral endowments and immense promise of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, its full potential continues to be severely undermined by illicit financial flows driven by illegal mining activities, regulatory weaknesses, corruption, opaque ownership structures, trade mispricing, smuggling, and the growing involvement of organised criminal networks.
He affirmed that artisanal and small-scale mining lie at the heart of the challenge, explaining that while the sector provides livelihoods for millions of Nigerians, its persistent informality, limited regulation, and lack of traceability expose miners and communities to exploitation by smugglers, corrupt intermediaries, and, in some cases, armed groups.
Rev. David Ugolor, explained that illicit financial flows in Nigeria’s mining sector are systemic rather than incidental, pointing out that they are deeply embedded in weak data systems, fragmented institutional mandates, cash-based transactions, and persistent gaps in oversight from mineral extraction through to export.
