NSCDC's Mining Marshals unit announces intensified enforcement against illegal mining networks in Nasarawa State, even as the same corps faces intense scrutiny over 37 deaths in custody during a similar Niger State operation days earlier.
Nasarawa State — 24 September 2026
The Mining Marshals, a specialised NSCDC unit, say they have intensified enforcement operations against illegal mining networks in Nasarawa State, describing the effort as part of a broader campaign to disrupt unlawful mineral extraction and strengthen regulatory compliance across Nigeria's solid minerals sector.
According to a statement, the operation was triggered by "actionable intelligence and complaints of unauthorized mining activities," and involved a joint task force of officials from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and community-based security structures. The statement did not specify a location within Nasarawa, an arrest count, or the exact date of the operation.
Mining Marshals Commander, ACC Attah John Onoja, said the mission was executed under established Standard Operating Procedures and derives its legal mandate from the NSCDC Act 2007, describing it as part of a nationwide drive to "entrench compliance" and end impunity in mining communities.
This is a familiar posture for the unit, which has previously conducted similar raids in Kokona LGA, Nasarawa, and against a Chinese-Nigerian lithium mining operation also in Nasarawa State.
This announcement, however, lands at an especially fraught moment. Just days earlier, this outlet covered the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Niger State, following a nearly identical "burst operation" against unauthorised mining sites, a tragedy that has since triggered demands for accountability from Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi's media office, the suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and 20 other officers, and a 10-member independent federal investigation.
Given that the Mining Marshals operate under the same NSCDC structure and rely on the same enforcement model, mass arrests of suspected illegal miners followed by detention, this new Nasarawa operation is likely to draw heightened scrutiny over how detainees are treated in custody, not just whether the enforcement itself is justified.
It is also worth noting that ACC Onoja himself has faced serious allegations in the past, including a 2025 community petition accusing Mining Marshals under his command of illegal mining, child labour, and extortion, allegations he has denied and pursued legal action over, including a ₦2 billion defamation suit against a publisher over a separate extortion claim.
None of these past allegations have been proven, but they add to the list of questions likely to follow any large-scale Mining Marshals operation going forward.
As enforcement expands nationwide, the operative question is no longer simply whether illegal mining is being disrupted, but whether Nigeria's anti-illegal-mining enforcement apparatus, spanning the NSCDC, the Mining Marshals, and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, can demonstrate that detainee safety and due process are being upheld, given the events in Niger State just days before this Nasarawa announcement.
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