One year after the federal government created Mining Marshals from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to combat illegal mining, the illicit trade is still booming.
An appraisal of the situation at illegal mining sites in some states of the federation showed that those involved in the acts were still very active while the activities of the marshals were not very pronounced.
Top officials of states and community leaders interviewed by our correspondents differed on the visibility and performance of the marshals during the period under review.
In March 2024, the minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, inaugurated the Mining Marshals to secure mining sites across Nigeria and enforce mining laws.
In his report on the performance of the marshals after one year in office, the minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, said they have arrested 327 persons, recovered 98 mining sites from illegal miners and are at present prosecuting about 143 of them.
The Mining Marshals, a force specially created to secure the mining environment in the country, has also seen its staff strength grow from the initial 2,200 to 2,670.
But miners in Tilde-Fulani community of Toro and Gital in neighbouring Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi State have raised the alarm over the absence of federal marshals in the sites where illegal activities are prevalent.
They alleged that the vacuum is fueling insecurity and illegal operations in the community.
The artisanal and small-scale miners in the area, who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday, said they were left to fend for themselves amid increasing threats from bandits, illegal miners and environmental degradation.
“We are working in fear every day,” said Aliyu Musa, a miner in Tilde-Fulani. “Without marshals on ground, anyone can just walk in, start digging or even attack us.”
The mining marshals, deployed under the National Mining Marshals initiative by the federal government were expected to enforce regulations and secure mining sites across the country.
However, the legal operators in Bauchi insisted that their presence has never been felt. “It’s like we don’t exist,” lamented Hauwa Gital, a female tin washer in the Gital area. “No one checks on us, no one protects us,” she added.
The miners, therefore, called on the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to deploy marshals to their areas, stressing that the ongoing neglect threatens both the lives and the legal mining sector.
“This is a ticking time bomb,” said a local mining cooperative leader, who asked not to be named. “If the government won’t act, we may have to shut down operations,” he said.
In Niger State, despite the claim by the state government that the Mining Marshals were helping in the war against illegal mining, the residents of the communities hosting the mining sites said their impacts were yet to be felt.
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that no fewer than 100 illegal mining sites are spread across the state; sometimes leading to collapse and slides that claimed no fewer than 70 lives across the state in one year.
A resident of one of the communities hosting a mining site, Joseph Auta told LEADERSHIP Sunday that because of the link of those at the mining sites with bandits from Zamfara State, the marshals need more sophisticated weapons to confront the illegal operators.
Another resident of Galgogo in Shiroro local government area of the state, where a mining site collapsed last June and claimed 40 lives, Mohammed Aliyu said, “Considering the fact that those behind the nefarious acts are highly placed in the society, the marshals need better weapons and political will to check illegal mining.”
The commissioner of Mineral Resources, Garba Sabo, said the marshals had helped the ministry in its operations at various mining sites to arrest the illegal miners.
He said the Task Force on Illegal Mining put in place by the state government would collaborate with the marshals to nip illegal mining in the bud.
In Zamfara State, state government officials and other stakeholders, especially traditional rulers of mining areas as well as leaders of Artisanal Miners and Small-scale Business Association, admitted the presence of the marshals in their communities.
It was gathered that the marshals were enjoying the support from the state government in the crackdown on the illegal operators.
A traditional ruler (district head) of one of the villages in Anka local government area who sought anonymity, said since the presence of the marshals in Zamfara, sanity had been restored at the mining sites.
According to him, as soon as the marshals arrived in the state, all the Emirs in the affected communities summoned a meeting with the stakeholders to cooperate with the personnel to accomplish their mandate.
The state chairman of the Artisanal Miners and Small-scale Business Association, Alhaji Usama Mu’azu Maizinari, applauded the federal government for deploying the marshals to Zamfara State to ensure compliance with community development agreements and conduct remediation moves to overhaul the mining sector.
He said they were supporting the marshals but lamented that majority of their members operating in the hinterlands were facing serious problems with marshals, especially at the checkpoints.
Maizinari claimed that most of them had been threatened by the marshals and even had the gold they had mined confiscated.
The permanent secretary in the state’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Alhaji Rilwanu Musa, said the state government was collaborating with marshals in carrying out their duties.
He said at the ministry level, they ensured that all the demands of the marshals to successfully discharge their functions were met.