Personnel from other security agencies of the government will soon be added to the newly-launched Mines Marshals.
The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, stated this yesterday, after a closed-door meeting with the minister of defence, Abubakar Badaru.
In a statement by his special assistant on media, Dr Alake described the newly launched Mines Marshals as an inter-agency security outfit to secure the mining environment.
He said with the unveiling last week of the first batch of marshals made up of 2,220 civil defence corps, plans are underway for sister agencies to add their officers to the structure of the outfit, across the country.
He explained the role of the ministry in the operations of the mines marshals, citing effective intelligence gathering through its state mines inspectorate, harnessing valid data of troubled mining areas and giving the requisite directives for precise operations as necessary factors for coordination of the activities of the marshals from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD).
On his part Defence Minister Abubakar Badaru revealed that the federal government was already making a headway in routing illegal miners as clearance operations have commenced in some troubled spots.
“The illegal miners are already vacating because of the minister’s words and warnings. Where there is a need for reinforced security for operations, we will jointly provide that to ensure the mining sector operates well, and the country makes the necessary revenue that she deserves,” Badaru added.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Mines Marshals, now composed of NSCDC operatives, is the first layer of the new security architecture to secure mining areas.
They became operational last week, with an initial specially trained 60 operatives deployed to each state in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
