Odita Sunday 
NSCDC Mining Marshals Arrests 671 Illegal Miners, Arraigns 397 as Crackdown Intensifies
By Odita Sunday
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 671 suspected illegal miners across the country, with 397 of the suspects already arraigned in court, as authorities intensify efforts to curb illegal mining and safeguard Nigeria’s solid mineral resources.
The figures were disclosed on Monday at a stakeholders’ workshop on extractive industry governance in Abuja by the Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Attah Onoja, who represented the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi.
Onoja said the Corps’ Special Mining Marshals had sustained nationwide enforcement operations that led to the dismantling of several illegal mining sites, noting that the campaign has strengthened regulatory compliance, boosted government revenue and improved investor confidence in Nigeria’s mining sector.
Despite the successes, he said the fight against illegal mining is still hindered by inadequate logistics, shortage of personnel, delays in the judicial process and the activities of organised criminal syndicates operating within the sector.
To overcome the challenges, Onoja called for increased funding for enforcement agencies, enhanced surveillance capabilities and the establishment of designated courts to ensure speedy prosecution of mining-related offences.
The workshop, organised by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Mineral Exploitation, Security and Anti-Money Laundering, brought together stakeholders from government institutions, security agencies, labour unions and the mining industry to discuss measures for strengthening governance in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
Also speaking, President of the Nigeria Union of Mines Workers, Hamza Muhammad, urged the Federal Government to prioritise local processing of mineral resources before export, saying the move would create jobs, promote industrialisation and enable the country to derive greater value from its mineral deposits.
Representing the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Fatima Usman-Katsina reaffirmed the commitment of state governments to working closely with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, revealing that a joint technical working group had been established to improve accountability, traceability and coordination in the mining sector.
Earlier, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the House Majority Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said the workshop was convened to develop practical and sustainable solutions to illegal mining, insecurity and illicit financial flows linked to the extractive industry.
He stressed the commitment of the House to strengthening existing laws and introducing reforms that would promote transparency, improve governance and attract responsible investment into the mining sector.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Mineral Exploitation, Security and Anti-Money Laundering, Hon. Sanni Abdulraheem, called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, regulators, mining operators and host communities.
He assured participants that the committee would recommend comprehensive legislative and policy reforms aimed at strengthening oversight, curbing illegal mining and protecting Nigeria’s mineral resources for sustainable national development.
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