Claiming that some officers are aiding suspects and impeding investigations, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has accused the Nigeria Police Force of undermining its efforts to combat illegal mining in Nasarawa State.
In a petition submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions on June 2, 2025, Attah John Onoja, the commander of the Mining Marshals, allegedly made this charge.
Onoja claimed that in addition to shielding defendants from prosecution, Force Intelligence Department (FID) officials under the command of CSP Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi have endangered NSCDC staff members by harassing them, detaining them illegally, and even shooting them.
In October 2024, the Mining Marshals, a specialized task squad under Operation Hayakin Kogo, arrested a number of illegal miners, including Ali Tanko and his Chinese friends, as the petition claims.
“Capital Apex Synergy Global Ltd., which has legal mining rights in Rafin Gabas, located in the Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, petitioned for these arrests,” he said.
The accused were charged in the Federal High Court in Abuja under two instances, FHC/ABJ/CR/577/2024 and FHC/ABJ/CR/131/2025, Onoja said, after they acknowledged that they had been operating without a mining license since 2021.
However, the NSCDC asserts that when police officers started to impede investigations and sent officers to the mining site, it was unable to pursue prosecution.
In one instance, four police officers are accused of shooting the Mining Marshals on April 3, 2025. He claimed that after being disarmed, the policemen were turned over to the police, along with their firearms.
According to Onoja, the NSCDC described the shooting as an attempted murder and said the Inspector General of Police did not look into it. This incident is similar to one that occurred in February 2025 when police officers allegedly opened fire on NSCDC employees who were defending another illegal mining operation in Ondo State.
Onoja claimed that on April 8, 2025, CSP Abdulmajeed and about 30 police officers returned to the Rafin Gabas site, where they allegedly assaulted and arrested four members of the NSCDC, seized their personal belongings and weapons, and tried to get them to falsely accuse their commander.
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Furthermore, he charged that the police had misused an ex parte application to get a restraining order from the Federal High Court, falsely accusing the NSCDC of unlawful mining and even murder without a death certificate or supporting documentation.
Citing the suppression of information and lack of jurisdiction, he said the Mining Marshals had filed a motion to have the court order overturned, calling it “fraudulently obtained.”
In order to review the police’s activities and suggest disciplinary measures, including punishment against CSP Abdulmajeed, the petition requests that the Senate Committee hold a public hearing.
It also asks for legislative protections to prevent disruptions to Mining Marshals’ countrywide activities in the future.
Onoja warned that the police’s recent actions, especially the claimed threat from CSP Abdulmajeed to use force to attack the protected mining site, constitute a grave abuse of power and may impede legitimate prosecution efforts.
“The Senate has been shown a video recording of the threat and several annexures detailing communications between the NSCDC, Police, Army, and legal representatives,” he said.
