Pix: ACC John Attah Onoja, Commander, NSCDC Mining Marshals

By Isiaka Mustapha, Editor-in-Chief

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has effectively exonerated the Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Attah Onoja, from allegations suggesting that he or his unit was implicated in the disciplinary measures recently taken against personnel of the Corps.

The clarification follows the NSCDC’s announcement that it sanctioned 79 officers for various acts of misconduct and arrested 12 suspects over offences including employment racketeering, certificate forgery, and other criminal activities. Notably, neither ACC John Attah Onoja nor any matter relating to the controversial death of a Mining Marshals operative was listed among the cases that led to the disciplinary actions.

The development comes amid continued public interest in the death of Deputy Superintendent of Corps (DSC) Agada Levi Agada, a member of the Mining Marshals, whose killing has sparked multiple investigations and competing accounts of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Earlier, Onoja had strongly challenged a police report that allegedly sought to link some officers under his command to the death of the operative and to suspicious financial transactions running into billions of naira. He dismissed the report as inaccurate and misleading, maintaining that it was part of a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the Mining Marshals and weaken the Corps’ ongoing offensive against illegal mining networks.

The latest disciplinary exercise by the NSCDC appears to draw a clear line between internal administrative sanctions and the separate investigation into the death of the Mining Marshals operative. The Corps’ statement contained no indication that Onoja was under investigation, found culpable, or subjected to any disciplinary measure in connection with the matter.

Security observers note that the omission of Onoja’s name from the list of sanctioned personnel may further strengthen his position that allegations linking him or his unit to wrongdoing remain unsubstantiated.

Since its establishment, the Mining Marshals unit has become a major force in the Federal Government’s efforts to combat illegal mining and protect Nigeria’s mineral resources. Under Onoja’s leadership, the unit has recorded significant successes, including the arrest and prosecution of illegal miners, the dismantling of unlawful mining sites, and the disruption of criminal networks operating within the sector.

Despite these achievements, the commander has repeatedly alleged that vested interests benefiting from illegal mining activities have mounted campaigns aimed at discrediting the unit and obstructing its operations.

The NSCDC’s latest disciplinary announcement, however, provides no evidence linking the Mining Marshals Commander to any act of misconduct, reinforcing the position that the ongoing investigation into the death of DSC Agada remains separate from the Corps’ internal disciplinary proceedings.