Niger Deaths: Mining Marshals Deny Involvement, Dispute Suspended Commandant’s Claim

The Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Onoja Attah, has firmly denied that personnel of the specialised Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) unit participated in the September 16, 2026, operation at M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate in Minna, Niger State, where deaths are under investigation.

Attah’s denial contradicts a claim attributed to the suspended Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, that Mining Marshals personnel were deployed to the area following his visit to a mining site on September 15.

The conflicting accounts have raised questions about the identity of the security personnel involved in the operation, who authorised their deployment and the circumstances that led to the deaths.

In a statement issued by his office at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja, Attah rejected the reported claim that the Mining Marshals were deployed to the location, insisting that personnel of the unit were not attached to the Niger State Command or any other state command of the Corps.

“No Mining Marshals operative is attached to the Niger State Command or to any State Command of the Corps for that matter,” he stated.

Attah explained that the Mining Marshals operate from the NSCDC National Headquarters under the command and operational directives of the Commandant-General, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

He maintained that the operational structure of the unit did not support the claim that a state commandant had deployed its personnel to the area.

The denial followed an October 16, 2026, report by Daily Post, which quoted Aniviye as saying that he visited a mining site on September 15 and subsequently deployed Mining Marshals personnel to the area.

Rejecting that account, Attah said the Commandant-General of the NSCDC had previously stated publicly that the Mining Marshals were not involved in the incident.

He disclosed that he only became aware of the operation after reports of the deaths emerged.

“Our operational records confirm that at no time were Mining Marshals personnel deployed or involved in the said operation,” he said.

However, Attah did not provide copies of the operational records cited in support of the denial in the statement.

The conflicting accounts leave key questions unresolved, including which security personnel carried out the operation, the authority under which they acted and the chain of command responsible for their deployment.

These issues are among those being examined by the Commission of Inquiry chaired by Justice Mohammed Mohammed, which is investigating the incident.

While the account attributed to Aniviye identified Mining Marshals personnel as the operatives deployed to the area, Attah has categorically rejected that claim. Establishing what happened will require evidence capable of confirming the identities of the personnel involved and the orders under which they operated.

Attah urged the media to verify reports concerning Mining Marshals deployments through the unit’s National Headquarters, stressing the need to establish facts before attributing an operation to the specialised security formation.

The commander also defended the unit’s wider activities in the solid minerals sector, stating that its operations were guided by the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, and established rules of engagement.

He claimed that the unit had maintained professional standards since its establishment and had not recorded human rights violations during its operations. He also claimed that no fundamental rights enforcement suit was pending against the unit in any Nigerian court.

Attah attributed the unit’s operational procedures to the leadership of NSCDC Commandant-General, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

He said the Mining Marshals would continue to enforce laws governing the solid minerals sector and support efforts to combat illegal mining.

However, the unit’s general responsibilities do not settle the dispute over its alleged involvement in the September 16 operation in Minna.

The Commission of Inquiry is expected to establish the identities of the personnel involved, determine who authorised the operation and examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Relevant evidence may include deployment orders, operational logs, personnel records and testimony from officials and witnesses.

For now, the Mining Marshals have disowned the operation, directly disputing the account attributed to the suspended Niger State NSCDC commandant. The inquiry will have to establish which account is supported by the available evidence and determine responsibility for the incident.