CYRIL MBAH, Abuja
The Commander of the Mining Marshals Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), John Onoja has rejected a police report linking one of his officers to over ₦2bn in suspicious transactions following the death of a police operative.
Onoja also alleged that foreign nationals involved in illegal mining activities are behind sustained attacks aimed at discrediting the Mining Marshals. He said the campaign was designed to undermine the unit’s operations in mining areas.
The commander was responding to a viral publication titled “Nigeria Police Arrest Three NSCDC officers over colleague’s death, trace over ₦2bn to suspect’s bank account,” describing the report as false and misleading.
According to Onoja, the Zenith Bank account number 1008392780 belonging to Jibrin Labaran recorded a total debit of ₦760,457.25 and a total credit of ₦760,129.85 within the last year. He said the figures represented the officer’s emoluments, contrary to the ₦2bn claim in the police report recently published online.
He accused officers of Team N of the Force Intelligence Department, led by CSP Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi, of repeatedly interfering with lawful Mining Marshals operations in Nasarawa State and also claimed that the team had disrupted the unit’s activities on the same site for over a year.
Onoja alleged that the same police team had previously arrested some mining marshal operatives and attempted to undermine ongoing prosecutions involving suspected illegal miners, saying such actions constituted consistent blackmail against the unit.
The commander said he had written to the Inspector-General of Police requesting that the investigation into the death of Agada Levi, a Deputy Superintendent of Corps attached to the Mining Marshals, be transferred to the Department of State Services for impartial review and argued that the modest step was for the police to hand over the case.
Onoja said the Mining Marshals supported Levi’s family after his death and sponsored his burial. He stated that he convened a meeting with family members, set up a burial committee, and that all expenses were covered without requesting money from the family. He added that friends of the unit later donated ₦3 million to the widow.
Onoja further alleged that foreign nationals whose illegal mining sites were shut down in Nasarawa State were bankrolling the police team for the blackmail. He claimed Chinese nationals whose operations were stopped were among those sponsoring efforts to undermine the marshals.
Onoja also claimed police officers accompanied foreign nationals during an attempt to arrest the lead prosecution counsel for the Mining Marshals at his residence, but were stopped by soldiers guarding the estate.
He said Levi’s death was the first fatality recorded by the unit since its establishment over two years ago and urged the public to remain calm while the DSS reviews the case in its entirety.
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