FG deploys eight gun trucks to strengthen anti‑illegal mining operations

The Federal Government has acquired and deployed eight gun trucks to strengthen the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mining Marshals’ efforts to curb illegal mining nationwide.

Babalawe Afolabi, Assistant Commandant of the Corps and National Public Relations Officer at NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja, said that Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake added that more advanced technology and armoured vehicles would be supplied once budgetary allocations are secured.

Alake, accompanied by the Minister of Interior’s representative, Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin (retd.), praised the unit’s performance.

He noted that in just two years, the Mining Marshals have detained over 300 illegal miners, prosecuted more than 150 suspects, and secured numerous convictions involving both local and foreign nationals.

The minister highlighted that the specialized unit, created within the NSCDC, has played a key role in boosting Nigeria’s non‑oil revenue and diversifying the economy away from petroleum dependence.

Alake condemned the actions of illegal miners and their collaborators, calling them “saboteurs” and “enemies of the state,” and warned that they would be dealt with to the full extent of the law.

Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji‑Ojo, represented by Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin (retd.) of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, also spoke at the event. He commended the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for its support, emphasized the collaboration’s role in protecting the nation’s mineral resources, and pledged the Interior Ministry’s full backing for future training, increased funding, and enhanced firepower.

In his welcome address, NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Abubakar Audi, represented by Deputy Commandant General in charge of Technical Services DCG Zakari Ibrahim Ningi, described the ministry’s intervention as revolutionary and unprecedented.

While describing illegal mining as a critical threat to national development, the Commandant General assured that the NSCDC would maintain close cooperation with the ministry and that the newly acquired gun trucks would be used strictly for their intended purposes.