John Attah, commander of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) mining marshals, has raised the alarm over the use of illegal mining to finance violent and terrorist activities in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the 2025 RazorNews Inter-Agency Cooperation Awards, themed “Institutional collaboration as a tool for counterterrorism and crime,” Attah said evolving security threats have outpaced the capacity of any single agency.
He explained that criminal and terror networks have become more adaptive and transnational, exploiting illegal mining, arms trafficking, cyber tools, and cross-border operations to fund their activities.
Attah described the solid minerals sector as a critical economic lifeline that has been infiltrated by criminal syndicates, turning illicit mining into an accelerant feeding the machinery of terror.
The mining marshals, he said, were created to disrupt these pipelines and reclaim areas once controlled by non-state actors.
The commander highlighted early successes of the unit, including dismantling illegal mining hubs, recovering stolen minerals, and breaking long-standing criminal networks.
He credited these achievements to collaboration with the army, police, Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other security agencies.
Attah said, “These criminals operate without boundaries, without bureaucracies and without hesitation. To defeat such threats, no single institution, no matter how capable, can act alone.”
Attah warned that criminal groups are evolving rapidly, using drones, encrypted communications, and cryptocurrency, while state institutions remain constrained by silos and bureaucratic rivalries.
He urged the passage of laws requiring intelligence sharing, joint operations, unified prosecution frameworks, and coordinated training programs.
The commander said, “Intelligence is the oxygen of counter-terrorism. When agencies share data in real time, threats are neutralised before they mature.”
Attah added that collaboration reduces costs, avoids duplication, and strengthens public confidence amid tight security budgets.
He stressed the need for a unified strategy, saying, “We, too, must be united—by purpose, strategy and patriotism. Collaboration is not just a tool. It is our strongest weapon.”
The commander reaffirmed the mining marshals’ readiness to work with federal, state, local, and international partners to protect Nigeria’s mineral resources and dismantle networks driving insecurity.
