NSCDC accuses police of sabotaging illegal mining prosecution

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has accused the Nigeria Police Force of sabotaging efforts to prosecute illegal miners in Nasarawa State, alleging harassment, obstruction of justice, and even attempted murder of its officers. In a petition submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Commander of the NSCDC Mining […]

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has accused the Nigeria Police Force of sabotaging efforts to prosecute illegal miners in Nasarawa State, alleging harassment, obstruction of justice, and even attempted murder of its officers.

In a petition submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals, John Onoja Attah, detailed how police officers allegedly attempted to derail court cases involving suspects arrested for operating unlawfully at a mining site in Rafin Gabas, Kokona Local Government Area.

Attah claimed that following a petition from Capital Apex Synergy Global Limited, his team arrested one Ali Tanko and several Chinese nationals on October 25, 2024, for engaging in mining without licenses or valid documentation.

“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to operating at the site since 2021 without the necessary permits. Their statements were recorded in the presence of their lawyers and documented on video,” Attah stated.

He said two criminal cases — FHC/ABJ/CR/577/2024 and FHC/ABJ/CR/131/2025 — were filed against the suspects and are currently before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to the petition, the NSCDC maintained a presence at the site to preserve evidence. But after soldiers providing security withdrew on March 26, 2025 — upon confirming the operations were illegal — police officers allegedly moved in.

“On April 3, 2025, when we returned to secure the site, we were met by policemen. Without warning, they opened fire on us,” Attah said.

He identified four officers involved in the shooting. They were disarmed, arrested, and handed over to police authorities — but no investigation was launched.

“The Inspector-General of Police ignored this attempted murder. This isn’t the first time either,” Attah noted, citing a February 12, 2025, incident in Lege community, Ondo State, where police also allegedly shot at NSCDC officers during an operation against illegal miners.

He further alleged that on April 8, 2025, CSP Abdulmajeed led about 30 policemen to the Rafin Gabas site, where four NSCDC marshals were assaulted and arrested: ASCII Salihu Nda Mohammed, ASCII Yusuf Attahiru, CAI Sambi Amos Joel, and CAIII Mustapha Mohammed.

“They were coerced to make statements implicating me, but they refused,” Attah said.

He claimed the police subsequently began investigating Capital Apex Synergy Global — the original whistleblower — while recruiting false witnesses and filing fabricated petitions to discredit NSCDC’s actions.

“CSP Abdulmajeed has sent out multiple police invitations to smear my name and disrupt the legal process. I refused to appear and instead sent a comprehensive written defence to the DIG FID,” he added.

Attah said he was later shocked to discover that the police obtained a court order to restrain NSCDC marshals from returning to the site — a move he described as an attempt to protect illegal mining operations.

He urged the Senate to thoroughly investigate the role of the police in the alleged cover-up, intimidation of civil defence officers, and deliberate sabotage of ongoing prosecutions.

“The police are not only shielding illegal miners but actively working against the rule of law,” Attah concluded.

Police authorities are yet to react to the allegations.