Commander, Mining Marshals, National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), ACC Attah John Onoja, has said that Nigeria’s fight against illegal mining will depend increasingly on cooperation among security agencies, host communities, private companies and regulators.
Onoja, speaking at the 8th edition of the NSCDC Lagos Public Relations Clinic organized in collaboration with Halogen Group, said illegal mining had moved beyond an economic or regulatory offence to become a national security concern because of its’ links to insecurity, environmental degradation, revenue losses and the exploitation of vulnerable communities.
He said the Mining Marshals, established in March 2024 following directives from the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Henry Dele Alake, were created to strengthen the government’s response to illegal mining.
According to Onoja, the unit has since recovered more than 100 illegal mining sites and returned them to legitimate investors, while several suspects arrested during operations are undergoing prosecution.
He attributed the progress to the NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Abubakar Audi’s “3Cs” policy of collaboration, cooperation and coordination, which he said had shaped the Mining Marshals’ operations.
ACC Onoja said that when operations started, the reality was stark and making enforcement was fragmented and information was siloed. However, he identified community participation as one of the most important components of the strategy, arguing that residents of mining communities often provide information that enables security agencies to identify illegal operations.
He also called for stronger engagement with the private sector, particularly in the use of technology, risk intelligence and security systems to monitor extensive mining areas that government agencies cannot effectively cover on their own.
Onoja said inter-agency cooperation was equally essential, noting that the Mining Marshals work with the NSCDC, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the military, police, Department of State Services and the judiciary, depending on the nature of each case.
The commander said the objective should now be to move beyond treating collaboration as an operational tactic and make it a broader national approach to mining security.
That, he said, would require security and regulatory agencies to improve data sharing, speed up communication and present a consistenth public position on the fight against illegal mining.
He also placed responsibility on journalists and public relations professionals, describing them as an important link between security operations and public understanding.
Onoja urged the media to report illegal mining not merely as an economic offence but also in the context of its’ potential implications for national security.
He cautioned security agencies against sending conflicting messages about the fight against illegal mining, saying gaps between public statements and field operations could be exploited by illegal operators.
The commander further argued that protecting legitimate mining activities would improve government revenue and enable authorities to exercise greater oversight over the sector.
He linked stronger mining security to the broader challenge of preventing mineral resources from becoming sources of illicit financing, including the financing of terrorism and other crimes.
Onoja also invoked the resource-curse theory, which describes the paradox in which countries rich in natural resources fail to translate that wealth into broad economic development. Nigeria, he said, needed to ensure that its’ mineral resources contributed to economic growth rather than becoming a source of insecurity and exploitation.
For Nigeria, he said, effective mining security and coordinated action among stakeholders were necessary to ensure that the country’s mineral wealth supports development.
He urged participants at the PR clinic to sustain the discussion around collaborative security and find practical ways of strengthening cooperation across the mining and security sectors.
