The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, and Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, on Thursday dismissed allegations that members of the Armed Forces provide security for illegal miners operating across the country.
They made these statements while responding to allegations leveled against the security agencies during a public hearing held in Abuja, organized by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Mineral Resources, chaired by Hon. Jonathan Gaza.
The Chief of Defence Staff, represented by the Director of Operations Defence Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ilo, said members of the Nigerian Military only provide protection for legitimate requests made by licensed miners who operate in conflict-affected areas.
While reiterating the resolve of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to provide the necessary support to stop illegal mining, General Musa said: “It is not our primary duty, but part of our responsibility as per the constitution is that whenever the civil authority tasks us to do something, we have an obligation to comply.
“So the Armed Forces convey here that we are ready to support all the agencies involved in stopping illegal mining, including the civil defense, police, and the Ministry, and so on.
“Now to the question that you asked if the military is protecting any minefield or illegal miners. Most of the time, you find reports reaching us from reliable sources claiming that the military and police are providing protection for illegal miners.
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“I want to state categorically clear that this is a fallacy. It is not true. If there are any such allegations, we would want to know which mines or who brought the allegations so that we can take it up from there. If there is any such allegation, we want to know who brought it up, but as it is, that is pure lies, Sir.
“Legitimate requests are made for the military to provide protection to licensed miners in conflict-affected areas. Once we get such requests, we write to the Ministry of Mines.
“In fact, we direct them to send their letter to the Ministry of Mines. So if the Ministry of Mines requests us to provide protection because of the nature of the environment and the conflict, we sometimes give protection to those people licensed by the government to carry out mining activities based on requests from the Ministry.”
In his presentation, the Inspector General of Police, represented by Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Ademola Hamzat, said no responsible organization funded by the public would do anything against the will of the people.
He said: “The Police, yes, we give guards to some individuals who we can establish are under serious threat, especially in terrorism-affected areas. But from my own office, there is nothing to show that we protect any illegal mining site. We don’t do that.
“We have a procedure to even grant protection to individuals. The procedure is to know what you do for a living first, and you must be able to establish to us the reasons you want personal guards because the Police are supposed to provide general service to the people.
“So if the people who coordinate this, which is managed by the Inspector General of Police himself, are convinced that you need one or two guards for personal protection, they would grant it. But from my investigation, we do not protect any mine.”
In his remarks, Hon. Gaza, who presided over the session, emphasized the need to ensure that Nigerians are informed of ongoing efforts to protect resources and address the problem of illegal mining.
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