The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has pledged to intensify its crackdown on illegal mining activities, particularly operations suspected of providing funds for banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.
The Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals, John Onoja, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking with journalists.
Onoja said the specialised unit would continue to enforce mining regulations and pursue illegal miners as part of efforts to address the security and economic consequences of illicit mining.
He explained that illegal mining was no longer merely an environmental or economic issue, as proceeds from the activities could be channelled to criminal networks.
“It is not necessarily about picking up weapons and fighting bandits or kidnappers. We must ask: How do the people in those forests feed? How do they get money?” Onoja said.
According to him, cutting off the financial channels supporting criminal groups would weaken their ability to operate.
“We want to make criminality less lucrative. You can only make it less lucrative if the illicit flow of finances to terrorist groups is disrupted,” he added.
Onoja said the Mining Marshals had adopted an intelligence-driven approach involving the identification, arrest, investigation and prosecution of suspected offenders.
He noted that the command would maintain its presence in mining communities to deter illegal activities, although manpower and logistics remained challenges.
The commander called on journalists to support efforts to sanitise the mining sector by providing accurate and sustained reports on illegal mining and its wider security implications.
“I do not take your role for granted. The sanitised mining sector of our dream will be achieved through collaboration, and the major stakeholder in that collaboration is the media,” he said.
Onoja also urged the media to consider the resources available to the Mining Marshals when assessing their performance, noting that inadequate logistics had continued to hamper operations.
Earlier, the leader of the team, Odita Sunday, said journalists understood the security and economic implications of illegal mining and had an important role to play in addressing the problem.
The Mining Marshals were established by the NSCDC in March 2024 to combat illegal mining and protect the country’s mineral resources.
