The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made a damning accusation against some traditional rulers.
EFCC accused them of conniving with illegal miners.
According to the anti-graft agency, monarchs are carrying out the act despite the negative impacts on their communities and the country generally.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the two-day first International Anti-Corruption and Climate Change Conference organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) in collaboration with Hawkmoth and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
According to him, “When we are talking about environmental degradation, what is going on now with the illegal mining, in another five years it is going to be much, worse than the degradation that oil and gas exploration has caused.
“So let us begin to have that at the back of our mind. It (illegal mining) is a major problem that we are grappling with. You need to see the pictures of some of the environmental damage that illegal mining is causing; not even from foreigners alone, but particularly by our own indigenous people, in their environment. In some cases, supported by some traditional rulers.”
He also said that the severe environmental damage in the Niger Delta, including oil spills and pollution, was largely driven by corruption, not just natural causes.
He said, “The Niger Delta today is riddled with cases of oil spills, pollution and damage to the ecosystem. This cannot be blamed on natural occurrences alone. Corruption is at the root of climatic disruptions.”