The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has petitioned the Senate, alleging that police officers shot at its mining marshals and obstructed efforts to prosecute illegal miners in Nasarawa State.
The petition, addressed to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, was filed by John Onoja Attah, Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals.
According to Attah, his team arrested suspected illegal miners, including Chinese nationals, on October 25, 2024, after receiving a petition from Capital Apex Synergy Global Limited.
The suspects were charged in court, but Attah alleged that police officers from the Force Intelligence Department (FID) attempted to derail the prosecution.
Attah claimed that on April 3, 2025, police officers opened fire on his men at the Rafin Gabas site, injuring some of them. He identified the officers involved and alleged that despite handing them over to the police, the Inspector-General of Police failed to investigate the matter.
The NSCDC commander also alleged that the police began a counter-investigation targeting the original complainant and recruited false witnesses to discredit the NSCDC. He claimed that the police obtained a court order to restrain the mining marshals from operating at the site, allegedly to legitimize the actions of the illegal miners.
Attah has called on the Senate to investigate the police’s role in the alleged attacks, cover-ups, and efforts to sabotage ongoing prosecutions.
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