Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and human rights activist has raised serious concerns about the illegal export of gold from Nigeria.
He said that $9 billion worth of gold is being smuggled out of the country every year, aided by the use of two private jets. Falana voiced his concerns during an interview with Channels TV news, highlighting the exploitation of Nigeria’s valuable mineral resources by foreign entities.
Read also: Gold export hits N78bn, highest on record
According to Falana, these mineral resources are vital for the nation’s development and the growth of a robust economy. He expressed his distress at the situation, stating, “The Chinese were mining lithium illegally in Zimbabwe and that Country said, sorry, exploitation of Lithium is illegal. Now, the Chinese are building a factory in Zimbabwe that is worth 300 million dollars. Now, we have lithium in abundance here and it’s being taken away.”
Falana went on to criticise the appointment of Dele Alake as Minister of Solid Minerals, suggesting that someone more suited to the role should have been selected. He emphasised that the gravity of the situation goes beyond lithium.
“And I said do you know, 9 billion dollars worth of gold is illegally taken out of Nigeria annually with two private jets. I’m not talking of Lithium and I’m not talking of other resources,” he said.
