Illegal Mining: UNODC Organises Capacity-Building For Mining Marshals

Nigeria’s push to eliminate illegal mining and safeguard its mineral wealth has received renewed momentum with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has launched a specialised capacity-building programme for the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mining Marshals.

The initiative being part of the Canada-funded Project to Strengthen Nigeria’s Response to Criminal and Terrorist Finance Related to Minerals will train Mining Marshals Corps (MMC) personnel to strength their detection, investigation, and disruption of criminal and terrorist financial networks that are tied to mineral exploitation.

The four-day workshop, scheduled to hold from 25–28 November 2025 in Abuja, is designed to deepen the operational capacity of selected NSCDC officers to combat illicit financial flows linked to illegal mining, financing of armed groups, and money laundering in the mineral value chain. It will also strengthen collaboration between law-enforcement agencies involved in the protection of Nigeria’s mineral assets.

UNODC has requested the nomination of 20 technical officers, including a coordinating officer, preferably those who already have hands-on experience dealing with illegal mining cases and mineral-related financial crimes.

Engr Imam Akeyede Ganiyu, Director, Mines Inspectorate represented the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

Declaring the workshop open, the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Prof. Abubakar Ahmed Audi, mni,OFR hailed the UNODC partnership as “a collective global response to securing Nigeria’s mineral deposits from exploitation and criminal infiltration.”

Represented by ACG Muktar Lawal, the CG reaffirmed the Corps’ commitment to fully supporting UNODC’s objectives, noting that the initiative aligns with the federal government’s renewed agenda for resource protection.

The Commander of the Mining Marshals Corps, John Onoja Attah, described the UNODC’s interest in the activities of the Mining Marshals as a strong endorsement of the government’s determination to sanitize the mineral sector. He pledged the unwavering dedication of his officers to the founding philosophy behind the establishment of the Corps, emphasizing discipline, diligence, and proactive enforcement.

With illegal mining linked to revenue loss, insecurity, environmental degradation, and the financing of criminal networks, stakeholders say the UNODC-NSCDC collaboration marks a critical step in strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to protect its mineral assets and dismantle the illicit economies surrounding them.

The workshop is expected to set a new benchmark for coordinated, intelligence-driven mineral resource protection in the country.