The Mining Marshals unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has denied participating in a September 16 security operation at M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate in Minna, Niger State, where some persons died.
The unit also rejected claims by the suspended Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, that he had deployed its operatives to the location, insisting that he lacked the authority to assign personnel to any operation.
The Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps John Onoja Attah, made the clarification in a statement on Saturday, describing the account attributed to Aniviye as false and misleading.
The controversy comes as a Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Mohammed Mohammed continues investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and the conduct of the security personnel involved.
Attah maintained that the specialised unit operates independently of state commands and takes operational instructions directly from the NSCDC national headquarters.
He explained that Mining Marshals personnel are not attached to the Niger State Command or any other state command of the corps.
“No Mining Marshals operative is attached to the Niger State Command or to any State Command of the Corps for that matter,” he said.
According to Attah, the unit operates under the direct command and control of the NSCDC Commandant-General, in collaboration with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
He added that state commandants have no authority to deploy Mining Marshals personnel for assignments.
The commander further stated that the Commandant-General had repeatedly clarified in public that the unit was not involved in the disputed operation.
Attah said he only became aware of the operation after reports of the incident emerged, insisting that the alleged involvement of the Mining Marshals contradicted the unit’s established command structure.
He added that an examination of its operational records showed that no personnel from the unit had been deployed to the location or participated in the exercise.
“Our operational records confirm that at no time were Mining Marshals personnel deployed or involved in the said operation,” he stated.
The commander cautioned against associating the unit with the deaths being investigated, stressing that claims about its involvement should be verified against official operational records.
Unit Defends Its Human Rights Record
Beyond denying involvement in the incident, Attah defended the Mining Marshals’ enforcement activities, saying they were conducted professionally and in accordance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.
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He claimed that since its establishment, the unit had complied with its rules of engagement and had no record of human rights violations anywhere in the country. He also said there was no pending fundamental rights enforcement suit against the unit in any court.
Attah attributed the unit’s operational discipline to the standard operating procedures introduced under NSCDC Commandant-General Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake.
He reaffirmed the unit’s commitment to tackling illegal activities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, adding that reports he considered inaccurate would not distract it from its mandate.
The commander urged journalists to verify information about Mining Marshals operations through the unit’s national headquarters, particularly when reporting allegations involving security agencies and deaths in custody.