Smuggling cheats treasury of tax due to illegal mining and transportation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Some $3 billion worth gemstones are exported from Nigeria every year but the treasury gets little or no revenue from it because much of the business involves illegal mining and smuggling, for which many Chinese have been arrested.
Mines and Steel Development Minister of State Gbemisola Saraki disclosed the amount in Abuja at the graduation of the second batch of the master Gemstone, Jewellery making and Design training.
She said the ministry would transform Nigeria from a consumer of foreign jewellery products to a high-quality jewellery producer to save huge foreign exchange spent on jewellery imports.
Saraki reiterated Nigeria has a large population with an insatiable appetite for jewellery and it is imperative to create a local industry that would substantially meet demand and create jobs.
“It is also a known fact that Nigeria is abundantly blessed with several varieties of mineral resources. Among the minerals identified are varieties of precious and semi-precious gemstones.
“Some of the most popular Nigerian gemstones include Sapphire, Aquamarine, Beryl, Emerald, Tourmaline, Ruby, Garnet, Amethyst and Zircon, which are located across the country.
“But, sadly, they are illegally exported out of the country in raw forms,” she said, per The Guardian.
“We all know that the value of a gemstone increases when it is cut and polished, however, the majority of gemstones mined in Nigeria are being exported without any value addition since the technical know-how and machinery required in cutting, polishing and finishing jewelry are generally lacking in the country.”
Patrick Ojeka, the ministry’s Director of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, urged graduates of the programme to show determination in the skills acquired for the development of the downstream sector of the mining industry.
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EFCC arrests Chinese for illegal gemstone mining
A Chinese, Gang Deng, 29, was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last month for alleged illegal mining in Ilorin, the latest in a long line of arrests of Chinese in a racket that smuggles solid minerals out of Nigeria.
EFCC Media and Publicity Head Wilson Uwajuaren disclosed Deng was arrested in Ilorin on the night of 9 September and found to be in possession of crude minerals without authority.
“A truck load of minerals, suspected to be lepidolite, was recovered from him. The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” Uwajuaren said in a statement.
EFCC Ilorin Zonal Command had on 30 August arrested another 13 suspected illegal miners operating in Kakafu village in Patigi Council in Kwara for non-payment of royalties to the federal government.
The graft buster said they were nabbed in a joint operation with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development following intelligence report.
