Abuja: A Non-Governmental Organisation, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), has called for synergy between local vigilante groups in mining host communities and the Mining Marshals for the security of mining sites. The Executive of RDI, Philip Jakpor, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja. He described the move as crucial in enabling the marshals to achieve their objective of securing mining sites across the nation.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the mining marshals security unit was established in 2024 by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, to secure mining sites nationwide. The personnel of the unit are drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and 2,570 personnel have been inaugurated with more than 300 illegal miners arrested and prosecuted.
Jakpor emphasized that the host communities should be involved in securing the sites because of their familiarity with the terrain, which would help the marshals in the discharge of their duties, particularly in surveillance. “They know the bad eggs of the community; they know the strange faces and the good faces in the community,” Jakpor noted. “So, if mining marshals drawn from the NSCDC work with communities that already have vigilante, I think the impact will be more. That is the kind of synergy needed,” he added.
He further explained that the establishment of the mining marshals is timely, given the scourge of insecurity at mining sites, which have become hotbeds for insurgency. Jakpor also urged the government to ensure adequate welfare for the marshals to enable them to discharge their duty diligently. He highlighted that proper welfare would discourage the marshals from accepting bribes from illegal miners to carry out their activities.
Jakpor noted, “The marshals will be the ones to raise alarm when things are going wrong, but if you do not pay them well, the illegal miners will be able to entice them, and when they do that, they can compromise.” He stressed the importance of adequately funding the marshals, which includes providing the necessary tools for their work. “When I talk about tools of work, I mean they should be able to reach mining sites no matter how far they are. So, if they need choppers, they should have them. This is because when the Shiroro incident happened, one of the biggest problems the state governor mentioned was that the area was not accessible,” he explained.