The Mining Marshals of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have vowed to intensify operations against illegal mining cartels and disrupt illicit financial networks allegedly linked to banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.
The Commander of the Mining Marshals, John Attah Onoja, made the pledge on Thursday in Abuja when members of the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria, led by its President, Odita Sunday, paid a courtesy visit to his office.
Onoja said illegal mining had evolved beyond an economic and environmental concern, warning that proceeds from illicit mining could provide a source of funding for criminal and terrorist groups.
He said the Mining Marshals would adopt intelligence-led operations involving the identification, arrest, investigation and prosecution of offenders, while maintaining a presence in mining communities as part of its deterrence strategy.
“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,” Onoja said.
The commander said disrupting the financial networks sustaining criminal activities was as important as direct military operations against bandits and insurgents.
“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?” he said.
Onoja, however, identified inadequate manpower and logistics as some of the challenges confronting the Mining Marshals, urging the media to assess the performance of the operation alongside the resources available to it.
He also accused some compromised officials of institutions and agencies of colluding with illegal miners and frustrating efforts to sanitise the sector through blackmail and petitions against Mining Marshals personnel.
“The major bottleneck we face today is not necessarily the number of illegal miners out there, but the number of compromised officials of institutions and agencies that are supposed to be partners in the fight against illegal mining,” he said.
Describing such activities as corruption fighting back, Onoja stressed that the campaign against illegal mining must be sustained and implemented without bias or selectivity.
The commander also urged defence correspondents to support the operation through accurate, responsible and sustained reporting of illegal mining and its security implications.
“The sanitised mining sector of our dream will be achieved through collaboration, and the major stakeholder in that collaboration is the media,” he said.
Earlier, the President of DECAN, Odita Sunday, said illegal mining posed serious threats to the environment, national revenue and national security, stressing the need for stronger collaboration among security agencies, government institutions, the media and mining communities.
Odita said defence correspondents remained committed to professional, fair and accurate reporting of security operations, while ensuring that their reports did not compromise operational security or the safety of personnel.
“As defence correspondents, we understand that effective security operations require not only the commitment of security agencies but also responsible and accurate public communication,” he said.
He urged the Mining Marshals to maintain open communication with accredited defence correspondents through regular briefings, field visits and other professional engagements to minimise misinformation and speculation.
Odita said the media would continue to inform and educate the public while holding relevant institutions accountable and respecting legitimate national security requirements.
The Mining Marshals was established on March 21, 2024, as a specialised NSCDC operation mandated to combat illegal mining and protect Nigeria’s critical mineral resources.
