The Commander of the Mining Marshals of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, John Onoja, yesterday faulted a police investigation report linking one of his officers to over N2bn in suspicious financial transactions following the death of a mining marshal operative.
Onoja also accused foreign nationals allegedly involved in illegal mining of sponsoring what he described as a coordinated campaign to discredit the Mining Marshals, a special unit established by the NSCDC to combat illegal mining nationwide.
The controversy follows a viral publication titled, “Nigeria Police Arrest Three NSCDC Officers Over Colleague’s Death, Trace Over N2bn To Suspect’s Bank Account,” which claimed that police investigators uncovered suspicious transactions linked to one of the officers under investigation in connection with the death of a Mining Marshals operative.
Responding in a statement, Onoja described the report as false, misleading and aimed at undermining the work of the anti-illegal mining unit.
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He maintained that records from the bank account referenced in the report showed transactions amounting to less than N1 million over the past year.
“The Zenith Bank account number 1008392780 of Jibrin Labaran from last year’s statement of account contains a total debit of ₦760,457.25 and total credit of ₦760,129.85, being his emolument as an officer, as against a ₦2bn claim in the purported police investigation report that was published online,” he said.
The Mining Marshals’ commander further accused officers of Team N of the Force Intelligence Department, led by CSP Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi, of repeatedly obstructing the Mining Marshals’ lawful operations at illegal mining sites in Nasarawa State.
According to him, the alleged interference predates the current investigation and forms part of a long-running dispute between the police team and the Mining Marshals over enforcement activities in the state.
Onoja alleged that the same police team had previously arrested some Mining Marshals operatives and attempted to frustrate prosecutions involving suspected illegal miners.
The NSCDC official also disclosed that he had formally petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, seeking the transfer of the investigation into the death of Deputy Superintendent of Corps Agada Levi from the police to the Department of State Services for what he described as an impartial review.
“Hence, my letter to the IGP requesting the matter be transferred to DSS for impartial review and handling. The modest thing to do was for the police to transfer the case to DSS,” he said.
Levi, who was attached to the Mining Marshals, reportedly died while on official duty. His death sparked investigations that eventually led to the arrest of some NSCDC personnel by the police.
Defending the conduct of the Mining Marshals leadership after Levi’s death, Onoja said the unit took responsibility for supporting the deceased officer’s family and organising his burial.
“I called a meeting of family members in my office and set up a burial committee, and all programmes and expenses were carried out from the committee without requesting a kobo from the family,” he said.
He added that friends and associates of the Mining Marshals later raised ₦3m for Levi’s widow as part of efforts to support the bereaved family.
Onoja further alleged that foreign nationals whose mining sites had been shut down by the Mining Marshals were financing efforts to tarnish the unit’s and its leadership’s reputation.
The commander noted that Levi’s death was the first fatality recorded by the Mining Marshals since the special enforcement unit was created more than two years ago to tackle illegal mining and protect the nation’s mineral resources.
He insisted that while the unit acknowledged Levi’s death, its leadership had no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The commander urged members of the public to remain calm and allow relevant authorities to review the matter.
“We are not denying that Agada Levi died in the line of duty, sadly. But none of the Management Team of Mining Marshals knows anything about his death
“To this end, while the DSS begins to look into the investigation of this case on our request, we urge the public and all patriotic Nigerians who are reading between the lines to be calm, and to discountenance their cheap lies and blackmail,” he said.
