Mining Marshals Boost Nigeria’s Sector Revenue from N6bn to N38bn in One Year

Nigeria’s mining sector revenue has surged from N6 billion to more than N38 billion within one year following the creation of the Mining Marshals, a special enforcement unit of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Commander of the unit, Attah Onoja, disclosed this in Abuja during a media parley and workshop organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, themed “The Fight Against Illegal Mining: Role of the Media.”

Onoja said the Mining Marshals, set up under the Tinubu administration, have dismantled illegal camps, prosecuted offenders, and restored order in volatile mining corridors.

He stressed that their actions have significantly boosted government revenue while reducing the activities of illegal cartels.

“We will not cave to any blackmail designed to weaken our resolve,” Onoja said. “Illegal mining cannot be defeated by enforcement agencies alone, and this is why we are calling on the media to be partners in this fight.”

He cautioned against “rogue journalism” allegedly sponsored by illegal mining cartels to discredit enforcement operations, noting that sustained collaboration with the media is critical to national survival.

The Commissioner of Police, FCT, Ajao Adewale, described illegal mining as one of Nigeria’s most dangerous security threats, costing the country an estimated $9 billion (N13.7 trillion) annually.

He said the activity is largely cartel-driven and bankrolled by powerful individuals, fueling banditry and insecurity in several states.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has also confirmed that Nigeria loses billions yearly to illegal mining and gold smuggling.

Hotspots for these activities include Zamfara, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kaduna, Niger, Kwara, Osun, and parts of the FCT, where more than 72 suspects have been arrested for illegal mining between 2023 and 2024.

The Miners Association of Nigeria, through its president Dele Ayanleke, said corruption, poverty, and weak governance sustain illegal mining networks, warning that the consequences range from child labour in lithium fields to mercury poisoning in gold mining sites.

NUJ FCT Chairman, Grace Ike, pledged that journalists would intensify investigative reporting to expose financiers of illegal mining while amplifying community voices and pressing policymakers for decisive action.

Nigeria’s mineral wealth, Onoja reiterated, belongs to all Nigerians, not to a few cartels. He noted that the revenue leap recorded in one year proves that sanitising the sector is possible with enforcement, governance support, and media collaboration.