The clampdown on artisanal miners by the NSCDC Mining Marshals has left a trail of blood that can no longer be ignored. The latest report of over 33 miners allegedly dying in their custody is shocking in its magnitude. How does a civil enforcement unit arrest citizens for a bailable offence and return 33 corpses? Something is fundamentally wrong somewhere.
This is not the first time the integrity of this outfit has been questioned.
Recall the disturbing case in Nasarawa State. An operative of the Mining Marshals, Deputy Superintendent Agada Levi Agada, was shot dead during an operation at Rafin Gabas in Agwada. Following a petition by his family, the Police Force Intelligence Department, FID, arrested three NSCDC officers – Simeon Yakubu Anyebe, Ibrahim Ayefu and Iwodi Obochi – over his death.
During that investigation, the Police announced it had traced over N2 Billion in suspicious transactions to the Zenith Bank account 1008392780 of one of the suspects, Sgt. Jibrin Labaran.
The NSCDC Command, through Mining Marshals Commander John Onoja, rejected the report as “false and misleading,” claiming the account only recorded a total debit of N760,457.25 and credit of N760,129.85 in one year, being his emoluments.
Till today, Nigerians are asking: *What is the outcome of that investigation?* Was anyone charged for the killing of their own colleague? Was the N2 billion claim proven or disproven by an independent investigators or forensic audit? Why did the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, declare support for the Marshals and label critics as “economic saboteurs” instead of demanding an independent investigation and transparent probe?
Now we have a bigger tragedy – 33 citizens dead after arrest. How possible is this magnitude? Are we to believe 33 people slumped and died in custody at once? Or is this another case of extra-judicial killing of innocent citizens branded as “illegal miners”?
This raises critical constitutional questions:
1. Is there any court of law that declared these miners illegal before their death?
2. When did mining without a title become a capital offence punishable by death without trial?
3. How can you arrest citizens without prior sensitization, formalization, or an offer to join cooperatives as provided in the Mining Act 2007?
Enforcement cannot precede empowerment.
There is need on the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development to immediately suspend the Mining Marshals and order a full public inquiry into both incidents – the death of Agada Levi Agada and the death of the 33 miners.
There is also an urgent need on international and domestic human rights groups – the National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Nigerian Bar Association – to wade in and thoroughly investigate and reveal the truth. The families of these miners deserve autopsy reports, not press releases.
The stakeholders in the mining industry, such as Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, NMGS, Miners Association of Nigeria, and all mining unions must wake up from their silence. If you can be killed in custody for trying to feed your family, then no miner is safe.
*How can you formalize a sector by killing its people.* Abubakar Mohammed Hassan is of Adamawa Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association Yola.WHEN PROTECTION TURN PERSECUTION: IT IS HIGH TIME TO SCRAPT THE MINING MARSHAL TO END THE SLAUGHTER OF NIGERIAN MINERS
By : Abubakar Mohammed Hassan
The clampdown on artisanal miners by the NSCDC Mining Marshals has left a trail of blood that can no longer be ignored. The latest report of over 33 miners allegedly dying in their custody is shocking in its magnitude. How does a civil enforcement unit arrest citizens for a bailable offence and return 33 corpses? Something is fundamentally wrong somewhere.
This is not the first time the integrity of this outfit has been questioned.
Recall the disturbing case in Nasarawa State. An operative of the Mining Marshals, Deputy Superintendent Agada Levi Agada, was shot dead during an operation at Rafin Gabas in Agwada. Following a petition by his family, the Police Force Intelligence Department, FID, arrested three NSCDC officers – Simeon Yakubu Anyebe, Ibrahim Ayefu and Iwodi Obochi – over his death.
During that investigation, the Police announced it had traced over N2 Billion in suspicious transactions to the Zenith Bank account 1008392780 of one of the suspects, Sgt. Jibrin Labaran.
The NSCDC Command, through Mining Marshals Commander John Onoja, rejected the report as “false and misleading,” claiming the account only recorded a total debit of N760,457.25 and credit of N760,129.85 in one year, being his emoluments.
Till today, Nigerians are asking: *What is the outcome of that investigation?* Was anyone charged for the killing of their own colleague? Was the N2 billion claim proven or disproven by an independent investigators or forensic audit? Why did the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, declare support for the Marshals and label critics as “economic saboteurs” instead of demanding an independent investigation and transparent probe?
Now we have a bigger tragedy – 33 citizens dead after arrest. How possible is this magnitude? Are we to believe 33 people slumped and died in custody at once? Or is this another case of extra-judicial killing of innocent citizens branded as “illegal miners”?
This raises critical constitutional questions:
1. Is there any court of law that declared these miners illegal before their death?
2. When did mining without a title become a capital offence punishable by death without trial?
3. How can you arrest citizens without prior sensitization, formalization, or an offer to join cooperatives as provided in the Mining Act 2007?
Enforcement cannot precede empowerment.
There is need on the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development to immediately suspend the Mining Marshals and order a full public inquiry into both incidents – the death of Agada Levi Agada and the death of the 33 miners.
There is also an urgent need on international and domestic human rights groups – the National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Nigerian Bar Association – to wade in and thoroughly investigate and reveal the truth. The families of these miners deserve autopsy reports, not press releases.
The stakeholders in the mining industry, such as Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, NMGS, Miners Association of Nigeria, and all mining unions must wake up from their silence. If you can be killed in custody for trying to feed your family, then no miner is safe.
How can you formalize a sector by killing its people.
*Abubakar Mohammed Hassan is of Adamawa Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association Yola.