Gold for Guns: Zamfara Bandit Leader Exposes Deadly Trade Linking Nigeria to Foreign Arms Networks
By Our Reporter
In the lawless goldfields of Zamfara State, a deadly exchange fuels Nigeria’s spiraling insecurity: gold for guns.
In an exclusive interview facilitated through an intermediary, notorious bandit leader Kachalla Mati revealed how vast quantities of illicitly mined gold are being traded for weapons smuggled through the Sahel region — a shadow economy that bankrolls terror across the North-West.
“We exchange the gold for weapons. We give them the gold and they bring us the guns,” Mati confessed. “Sometimes we sell it here; sometimes we send it to Dubai.”
Mati, said to have succeeded the slain warlord Halilu Sububu, reportedly controls several mining camps across Anka, Kawaye, and Dan-Kamfani in Zamfara. According to findings by Daily Trust, his operations generate an estimated ₦200 million to ₦300 million weekly from illegal gold mining.
The proceeds, he admitted, are funneled into the purchase of automatic rifles, ammunition, and motorcycles — the tools of terror used in raids on rural communities. Weapons are sourced from arms suppliers along the Nigeria–Niger–Mali corridor, a route long notorious for trafficking in both gold and guns.
Mati’s network enforces brutal control over local miners. In many communities, residents are coerced into working under armed supervision, surrendering a portion of their yield to the bandits.
“They beat us, sometimes shoot to scare us,” recounted a miner in Anka. “We dig, wash, and they take the gold.”
To manage this shadow industry, Mati’s men issue “mining passes” — small slips of paper bearing his name. The passes act as both protection and proof of allegiance, ensuring that miners under his authority are not attacked by rival gangs.
Through such methods, the bandits have built a parallel economy that rivals the formal gold sector — one that funds violence and undermines state authority.
“We don’t trust banks,” Mati said. “Gold is better. It’s money you can carry anywhere.”
Investigations show that the reach of this trade extends well beyond Zamfara. Gold extracted under the control of Mati and other warlords is smuggled through Niger and Mali, refined, and sold to brokers with ties to Dubai’s lucrative gold market.
A 2024 SWISSAID report corroborates this, noting that much of Nigeria’s undeclared gold finds its way to the United Arab Emirates, bypassing official export channels.
In the hierarchy of bandit groups, gold represents far more than wealth — it is the lifeblood of their insurgency. It finances arms deals, recruits foot soldiers, and secures alliances with foreign gunrunners.
“We use the gold to protect ourselves,” Mati boasted. “If the government attacks us, we defend ourselves. That’s why we need guns.”
As authorities struggle to reclaim control over Zamfara’s mineral-rich terrain, the gold-for-guns trade continues to entrench criminal power and destabilize the region — turning the state’s natural wealth into a weapon against its own people.
