Militias, miners, and mining: political economy of artisanal gold mining and non-state groups’ violence in Northwest Nigeria and Ghana’s Western Region

This paper presents a systematic comparative review and secondary analysis of the political economy of artisanal gold mining and its connections to non-state violence in Northwest Nigeria and Ghana’s Western Region. Drawing on scholarly literature, policy documents, institutional reports, and secondary empirical evidence, it applies the political ecology of violent resource extraction theory to examine how unequal access to mineral resources, socioeconomic pressures, environmental degradation, and weak or hybrid governance enable coercive actors to control and extract value from mining spaces. Its empirical claims are limited to patterns, trends, and mechanisms documented in the existing studies and institutional sources. The findings show that artisanal gold mining occurs within contested political orders where state authority overlaps with informal and coercive forms of governance, allowing militias, bandits, local enforcers, and politically connected actors to shape access to resource extraction. The analysis demonstrates that mining-related violence is embedded in broader struggles over resources, livelihoods, environmental change, and political authority rather than being episodic or purely criminal. The study argues that reducing violent extraction requires transparent, accountable mineral governance, stronger institutions, and policies that address the socioeconomic and environmental conditions sustaining informal mining.