Pix: Attah Onoja

By Mohammed Basheer, Feature Editor, People’s Security Monitor, who attended the NUJ media parley

At the recent Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT Council media parley, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) Attah Onoja, Commander of the NSCDC Special Mining Marshals, laid bare the uncomfortable truths surrounding Nigeria’s mining sector. His speech was not only an exposition on the economic potential locked within Nigeria’s mineral-rich fields but also a stark warning about the insecurity, criminal cartels, and national losses threatening that potential.

Onoja’s message was clear: the mining fields of Nigeria are more than deposits of gold, lead, zinc, columbite, tin, and lithium; they are flashpoints of security interest. The activities in these areas directly affect the safety of local communities, the stability of the economy, and the sovereignty of the state. He reminded Nigerians that when mining fields are left vulnerable, they become fertile grounds for banditry, illegal arms trade, child labour, environmental degradation, and the thriving of international cartels that rob the country of billions of dollars annually.

Nigeria is estimated to lose over nine billion dollars yearly to illegal mining activities, according to reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Instead of wealth flowing into government coffers to build schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, these funds end up in the pockets of smugglers and their foreign collaborators. For instance, Zamfara State, often dubbed “the gold capital of Nigeria,” has seen its rich deposits turned into tools of conflict, with illegal miners funding armed groups in exchange for unregulated access to resources. Onoja rightly stressed that Nigeria cannot talk about diversifying its economy away from oil while allowing its solid minerals to be looted in broad daylight. With over forty-four different mineral types in commercial quantities scattered across more than five hundred locations, the sector could easily rival oil in foreign exchange earnings if properly harnessed. Yet, insecurity and weak enforcement keep the sector at the mercy of cartels.

The human cost of illegal mining is equally staggering. Communities in mining zones like Niger, Zamfara, Plateau, and Taraba states face displacement, violent attacks, and environmental hazards. Children are conscripted into labour, while women suffer the health consequences of chemical contamination from crude mining practices. Illegal mining is not just an economic crime; it is a national security threat. As Onoja highlighted, criminal networks operating in the sector often use their profits to procure weapons, thereby fuelling terrorism, kidnapping, and banditry. This creates a vicious cycle where insecurity feeds illegal mining, and illegal mining, in turn, finances insecurity.

In his efforts to spotlight these challenges, Attah Onoja deserves commendation. His clarity and courage in addressing the mining-security nexus is timely and patriotic. He has consistently provided intellectual and policy direction on how to protect Nigeria’s natural wealth from saboteurs. Equally worthy of recognition is NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Abubakar Audi, under whose leadership the Mining Marshal Corps has been launched. This initiative has already begun to record successes in dismantling illegal mining operations and protecting legitimate miners. The Ministry of Solid Minerals, led by Dr. Dele Alake, also merits applause for working closely with security agencies to sanitize the sector. By tightening licensing regulations, collaborating with the NSCDC, and introducing digital monitoring systems, the ministry has taken bold steps toward ensuring that Nigeria’s solid minerals benefit Nigerians, not criminals.

Onoja’s position reinforces a critical national truth: to protect Nigeria’s mining wealth, the country must combine security enforcement with economic incentives. Expanding and properly equipping the NSCDC Mining Marshals, deploying modern surveillance technologies to mining belts, prosecuting not only illegal miners but also the elites and foreign partners funding them, empowering local communities with legal mining cooperatives, and ensuring transparency in the licensing process are all crucial measures that cannot be ignored.

Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The mining sector can either become a pillar of prosperity or a theatre of insecurity. Thanks to voices like Attah Onoja, and the concerted efforts of the NSCDC under CG Audi and the Ministry of Solid Minerals under Dr. Dele Alake, there is now a clearer path to safeguarding our resources. If Nigeria is to truly diversify its economy and strengthen national security, the looting of mineral wealth by cartels must end. Protecting our mines is not just about minerals; it is about protecting our future.