NSCDC Alleges Police Support for Illegal Miners, Urges Probe

The Nigeria Police Force has been accused by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) of impeding its efforts to combat illegal mining in Nasarawa State. The NSCDC claims that some officers are aiding suspects and preventing investigations.
Attah John Onoja, the Commander of the Mining Marshals, reportedly made this charge in a petition submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions on June 2, 2025.
Onoja said that officers from the Force Intelligence Department (FID), under the command of CSP Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi, have not only shielded criminals from prosecution but have also endangered NSCDC staff members by harassing them, detaining them illegally, and even shooting them.

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The Mining Marshals, a specialist task squad under Operation Hayakin Kogo, arrested a number of illicit miners in October 2024, including a man named Ali Tanko and his Chinese colleagues, according to the appeal.
According to him, a petition from Capital Apex Synergy Global Ltd., which has legitimate mining rights in Rafin Gabas, which is situated in the Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, led to these arrests.

According to Onoja, the suspects subsequently faced charges in the Federal High Court in Abuja under two cases: FHC/ABJ/CR/577/2024 and FHC/ABJ/CR/131/2025 after confessing to working without a mining license since 2021.

However, when police officers started to sabotage investigations and dispatch officers to the mining site, the NSCDC says its attempts to prosecute were thwarted.

Four police officers allegedly opened fire on the Mining Marshals on April 3, 2025. He claimed that the cops were disarmed and turned over to the police, along with their firearms.

Onoja claimed that the Inspector General of Police did not look into the shooting, which was similar to another incident in February 2025 when police officers allegedly opened fire on NSCDC employees who were defending another illicit mining operation in Ondo State. The NSCDC described the incident as an attempted murder.

Onoja claims that on April 8, 2025, CSP Abdulmajeed and about 30 police officers returned to the Rafin Gabas site, where they allegedly coerced four NSCDC members into falsely accusing their commander, attacked and detained them, and took away their personal belongings and weapons.

He further accused the Police of falsely accusing the NSCDC of unlawful mining and even homicide without a death certificate or supporting documentation, and of using an ex parte application to obtain a restraining order from the Federal High Court.

The Mining Marshals have filed an application to have the court order overturned, claiming the suppression of facts and a lack of authority, he said, calling it “fraudulently obtained.”
The Senate Committee is urged by the petition to hold a public hearing in order to review the Police’s activities and suggest disciplinary measures, including sanctions against CSP Abdulmajeed.

Furthermore, it asks for legislative protections to prevent any such interruptions to Mining Marshals’ countrywide operations.

The police’s recent actions, including the reported threat from CSP Abdulmajeed to employ the military to attack the secured mining site, constitute a grave abuse of power, Onoja warned, and they may impede legitimate prosecution proceedings.

“A video recording of the threat has been presented to the Senate, along with several annexures detailing communications between the NSCDC, Police, Army, and legal representatives,” he said.