The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake on Friday, said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not only sustain the tempo in its quest to safeguard the country’s mineral wealth, but will also begin the pursuit of additional goals, stating that it will consolidate on the milestones of the past 365 days of the inauguration and operation of the Mining Marshals.
The Mining Marshals is a security outfit of the solid minerals sector inaugurated on March 21, 2024 with well-defined mandate to engage illegal miners and halt all illegal mining activities across the country.
Alake, who made the disclosure at a press conference to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the operations of the marshals, disclosed that the Special Forces arrested 347 suspects for illegal mining and prosecuted 143 across the country since the Mining Marshals began operations in 2024.
The security personnel were drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and trained in strategic and tactical skills to detect, engage, and combat illegal miners, bandits, and other criminal elements in the sector.
According to the minister, the Mining Marshals began operations with 2,220 personnel, which has since been increased to 2,670, adding that in 2025, the courts convicted 327 individuals arraigned in court to enhance deterrence and enforce compliance with the law.
He commended the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Army and all other relevant agencies for their efforts in the drive to sanitize the solid minerals sector.
The minister stated: “This month, the Federal High Court, Ilorin, Kwara State, sentenced two foreigners, Yang Chao and Wu Shan Chuan, to prison for illegal mining of solid minerals following a case prosecuted by EFCC.”
“We also commend the EFCC for its diligent prosecution of illegal miners.”
“In May last year, the EFCC successfully prosecuted and secured the conviction of two other foreigners, Duan Ya Hong and Xiao Yi, to one year of imprisonment for illegal mining at another Federal High Court, also sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State,” he said.
According to him, the Mining Marshals have played a crucial role in tackling the severity of illegal mining, which has been exacerbated by companies collaborating with individual miners to carry out the act.
He added that the marshals had reclaimed 98 mining sites since beginning operations by clearing illegal miners who had occupied licensed areas for more than a decade, preventing the rightful owners from operating.
“According to our records, Mining Marshals recovered over 98 sites last year. This has enabled many licence owners to return to site and resume operations.”
“This will, ultimately, improve royalties and raise the contribution of the solid minerals to the country’s revenue.”
“So far, the MM has identified 457 suspected illegal mining sites and has improved intelligence gathering on these sites,” he said.
According to the minister, the mining marshals use technology in their operations, including miniature robots and drones for surveillance.
He added that they employed communication tools to deliver early warnings, effectively distinguishing unarmed civilians from armed bandits, who are the main targets of their operations.
He said that the Mining Marshalls, in its second year of operations, would increase their engagements in other parts of the states.
Alake emphasised that Mining Marshalls previously held direct engagements across 10 states: Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The minister said that in addition to the kinetic measures used to combat illegal mining, non-kinetic measures would be intensified to strengthen the relationship between the government and artisanal miners and expand the registration of cooperatives.
He disclosed that the number of personnel would be expanded, and more logistics, including vehicles and other equipment, would be provided to the Mining Marshals to strengthen their operational capacity.
He urged them to prepare for tougher tasks as the government consolidates its operations to remove more illegal miners from sites and ensure their prosecution.
On his part, the Commandant of the Mining Marshals, John Attah, said their operations were guided by the provisions of the law and reaffirmed their commitment to flushing out illegal miners.
He thanked the minister for his support and urged the public to view their operations as a national project aimed at the country’s progress.
