The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the House of Representatives are joining forces to create a more formidable front against the widespread problem of illegal mining. This strengthened collaboration comes in the wake of the inauguration of a new House Ad Hoc Committee on Illegal Mining, an event the NSCDC has described as a “significant milestone” in the battle to reclaim control of the nation’s solid minerals sector. The initiative is a coordinated national effort to tackle illicit mineral exploitation, which is draining government revenue, damaging the environment, and fuelling insecurity.
During the committee’s inauguration, Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals, John Onoja, who was representing the Commandant-General, Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi, highlighted the severity of the issue. He asserted that illegal mining is more than just an economic crime; it is a direct threat to national security, undermining legitimate investment and destabilising communities across the country. Onoja noted that the elite Mining Marshals unit was established through the collaborative efforts of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, the Minister of Interior, and the NSCDC leadership. This unit has already made considerable progress, disrupting illegal operations, arresting suspects, and seizing illicit minerals. According to recent figures, the Corps has arrested around 500 individuals involved in illegal mining, with 270 of them currently facing prosecution.
Despite these successes, Onoja stressed that a concerted effort is needed to sustain this momentum. He called on the National Assembly to provide stronger legislative support and enhance inter-agency cooperation. The chairman of the new ad hoc committee, Honourable Sani Egidi Abdulraheem, echoed these concerns, describing illegal mining as a “scourge” that has had devastating effects on the nation. He outlined the committee’s clear mission: to block revenue leakages, enforce transparency, and ensure that Nigeria’s vast natural resources contribute fully to the nation’s economic prosperity.
Abdulraheem praised the NSCDC’s Mining Marshals as a “crucial institutional instrument” in this fight, acknowledging their vital role in providing intelligence, operational reach, and enforcement capacity. Observers believe that this synergy, which brings together the legislative, executive, and security arms of the government, marks a new chapter in Nigeria’s mineral governance. With coordinated action and renewed political will, there is hope that the country can finally break the cycle of exploitation that has plagued the solid minerals sector for decades. This new partnership aims to combine scientific data with on-the-ground security to build a regulated, transparent, and data-driven mining sector that benefits all Nigerians.
