The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has intensified efforts to sanitise Nigeria’s mining sector through expanded collaboration with the Mining Marshals, broadening the security outfit’s role beyond its traditional enforcement operations against illegal miners.

Findings indicate that the ministry is increasingly integrating the Mining Marshals into strategic activities involving intelligence gathering, investigations, compliance monitoring and operational fact-finding missions aimed at strengthening oversight and accountability within the solid minerals sector.

Industry stakeholders say the development reflects the Federal Government’s growing focus on repositioning mining as a transparent, secure and investment-friendly sector capable of supporting economic diversification.

As part of the expanded operational framework, the ministry recently undertook a series of operational tours of mining locations across parts of Northern Nigeria alongside officials of the Mining Marshals.

The engagements, initiated under the leadership of Dele Alake, were designed to reinforce monitoring, improve regulatory compliance and strengthen operational oversight across mining communities.

The inspection teams were led on different occasions by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Faruk Yusuf Yabo, representing the minister, and covered several mining sites in Nasarawa and Plateau states.

During one of the fact-finding operations, ministry officials, alongside the Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps Attah John Onoja, visited a mining location alleged to be involved in unlawful mining activities.

Officials said the visit formed part of ongoing efforts to verify allegations of illegal mining, assess compliance with existing regulations and gather field-based intelligence required for administrative, regulatory and possible enforcement actions.

The operational delegation also included senior ministry officials such as Engr. Frank Odoom, Director of Special Duties; Engr. Imam A. Ganiyu, Director of Mines Inspectorate; Andrew Zubiri, Director of Legal Services; and Ibrahim Abdulmajeed J., representing the Director General of the Mining Cadastre Office.

According to officials familiar with the exercise, the operational tours reinforce the Federal Government’s commitment to building a more regulated mining environment where investors, host communities, mine workers and other stakeholders can operate within a safer and more transparent framework.

They added that the engagements also provide a direct communication channel between mining communities and government authorities, allowing concerns relating to illegal mining, environmental management, security and regulatory compliance to be escalated directly to the ministry.

Observers believe the ministry’s growing reliance on the Mining Marshals for broader institutional and investigative responsibilities signals a more coordinated national response to tackling illegal mining and strengthening governance across Nigeria’s solid minerals value chain.

Under Alake’s leadership, the ministry has continued to implement reforms targeted at reducing illegal mining, improving sector monitoring and restoring investor confidence in the industry.

The Mining Marshals, a specialised security structure established to combat illegal mining and protect licensed operators, have increasingly become central to the ministry’s broader reform agenda through intelligence support, operational enforcement and inter-agency collaboration nationwide.