The United States House of Representatives has introduced a fresh bill proposing that the country’s secretary of state work with the Nigerian government to counter what it described as the “hostile foreign exploitation of Chinese illegal mining operations” and their alleged links to Fulani terrorists.
The proposed legislation, titled Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, was introduced on Tuesday by five Republican lawmakers.
The bill was sponsored by Chris Smith, Riley Moore, who authored the bill, Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Bill Huizenga. The lawmakers alleged that illegal Chinese mining operations in Nigeria engage in the “destabilizing practice of paying protection money to Fulani terrorists.”
The bill further proposed that the US secretary of state should consider providing “technical support to the Government of Nigeria to reduce and then eliminate violence from armed Fulani militias.”
Clause 10 and 11 of the proposed legislation read:
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“The Secretary of State should consider technical support to the Government of Nigeria to reduce and then eliminate violence from armed Fulani militias, including disarmament programs and comprehensive counter-terrorism cooperation to rid the region of Foreign Terrorist Organizations that pose a direct threat to the American homeland;
“The Secretary of State should work with the Government of Nigeria to counteract the hostile foreign exploitation of Chinese illegal mining operations and their destabilizing practice of paying protection money to Fulani militias.”
The bill also stipulates that the US Department of State enlist international partners such as France, Hungary, and the United Kingdom to collaborate with the Nigerian government in promoting religious freedom and peace.
Under the proposal, the secretary of state is expected to determine whether certain “Fulani-ethnic militias” in Nigeria qualify as “Foreign Terrorist Organisation.”
In April 2023, a report published by The Times, a British national daily, stated that Chinese nationals operating in the mining sector are funding terrorist groups in parts of Nigeria to secure access to the country’s mineral reserves.
The report said through bribes and illegal transactions, “Beijing could be indirectly funding terror in Africa’s largest economy.”
It further detailed that some Chinese nationals, who have worked informally as miners in Zamfara State, serve as runners for militant groups in the state and in the wider North-West region of the country.
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