The Commander of Nigeria's Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Onoja Attah, has formally denied that any personnel from the unit participated in the September 16 operation at M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate in Minna, Niger State. He asserted that the suspended Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, had no authority to deploy Mining Marshals operatives for any mission.
Attah issued the denial from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) National Headquarters in Abuja, dismissing statements attributed to Aniviye as false and misleading. Aniviye had reportedly claimed he visited a mining site on September 15 before deploying Mining Marshals to the area ahead of the operation, which is now under investigation by the Justice Mohammed Mohammed Commission of Inquiry.
Mining Marshals Answer Only to National Headquarters
The ACC explained that the suspended commandant's account misrepresented the operational structure of the unit. "No Mining Marshals operative is attached to the Niger State Command or to any State Command of the Corps for that matter," Attah said in a statement sent to Legit.ng. He clarified that the unit takes orders exclusively from the Commandant-General at the National Headquarters, in collaboration with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
Attah noted that the Commandant-General had already publicly stated on several occasions that Mining Marshals were not part of the operation. He added that he himself only learned about the incident when the news broke publicly. "Our operational records confirm that at no time were Mining Marshals personnel deployed or involved in the said operation," he said.
The commander warned against attempts to link the unit to the custodial deaths currently being probed, stressing that accountability must rest on verified facts rather than unsubstantiated claims.
Unit Claims Clean Human Rights Record
Attah went on to defend the Mining Marshals' overall conduct, stating that the unit has enforced the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, professionally and within the law since its establishment. He claimed there is no record of human rights violations against the unit and no pending fundamental human rights suits in any Nigerian court.
He credited the unit's discipline to standard operating procedures implemented under NSCDC Commandant-General Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake.
Attah urged journalists and media organisations to contact the Mining Marshals' National Headquarters directly before publishing claims about the unit's operations, calling for responsible reporting on matters involving security agencies.
Commission of Inquiry Continues
The denial shifts the question of who authorised and carried out the September 16 operation firmly to the ongoing commission of inquiry. The Justice Mohammed Mohammed Commission continues its work to establish the facts and identify the personnel responsible for the deaths recorded that day.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo constituted a ten-member independent committee to investigate how 37 people died while in the custody of the NSCDC in Niger State, following their arrest on suspicion of illegal mining. The minister announced the move on Saturday, September 19, acting on a directive from President Bola Tinubu for a full, transparent and unobstructed inquiry into the incident.
Tunji-Ojo also suspended 20 officers connected to the case, including the Niger State commandant of the NSCDC, pending the completion of the investigation. The commission of inquiry is expected to determine the facts and recommend actions based on its findings.
