US bill targets illegal Chinese mining operations in Nigeria for ‘funding Fulani militias’

A fresh bill at the United States House of Representativeshas proposed that the country’s secretary of state works with the Nigeriangovernment to thwart “hostile foreign exploitation of Chinese illegal miningoperations”. The proposed legislation, titled: ‘Nigeria Religious Freedomand Accountability Act of 2026’, was introduced by five Republican lawmakers onTuesday. The congressmen who sponsored the bill are Chris Smith,Riley Moore (bill author), Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Bill Huizenga. The bill sponsors said illegal Chinese mining operations inNigeria engage in the “destabilizing practice of paying protection money toFulani militias”. The bill also proposed that the US secretary of state shouldconsider “technical support to the Government of Nigeria to reduce and theneliminate violence from armed Fulani militias”. Clause 10 and 11 of the proposed legislation read asfollows: “The Secretary of State should consider technical support tothe Government of Nigeria to reduce and then eliminate violence from armedFulani militias, including disarmament programs and comprehensivecounter-terrorism cooperation to rid the region of Foreign TerroristOrganizations that pose a direct threat to the American homeland; “The Secretary of State should work with the Government ofNigeria to counteract the hostile foreign exploitation of Chinese illegalmining operations and their destabilizing practice of paying protection moneyto Fulani militias.” The bill also stipulates that the US Department of Stateenlist international partners like France, Hungary, and the United Kingdom towork with the Nigerian government to promote religious freedom and peace. The secretary of state is expected to determine whethercertain “Fulani-ethnic militias” in Nigeria qualify as “Foreign TerroristOrganisation”. In April 2023, a report published by The Times, a Britishnational daily, stated that Chinese nationals in the mining sector are fundingterrorist groups in parts of Nigeria to secure access to the country’s mineralreserves. The report said through bribes and illegal transactions,“Beijing could be indirectly funding terror in Africa’s largest economy”. The report detailed that some Chinese nationals, who haveworked informally as miners in Zamfara, serve as runners for some militantgroups in the state and in the north-west of the country.

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