The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has accused the Nigeria Police Force of obstructing justice in ongoing cases of illegal mining in Nasarawa State.

In a petition to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals, John Onoja Attah, alleged that police personnel had repeatedly interfered with criminal prosecutions, assaulted NSCDC officers, and provided cover for suspects facing trial.

Attah cited a major case stemming from a complaint by Capital Apex Synergy Global Limited, which led to the arrest of one Ali Tanko and several Chinese nationals at an illegal mining site in Rafin Gabas, Kokona Local Government Area. According to him, the suspects admitted to operating without licences since 2021, with their confessions documented on video in the presence of legal counsel.

Criminal charges — FHC/ABJ/CR/577/2024 and FHC/ABJ/CR/131/2025 — were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, and NSCDC personnel were deployed to secure the site and preserve evidence.

However, the situation reportedly changed after military support was withdrawn from the site on 26 March 2025. On 3 April, NSCDC officers attempting to resume their duties were allegedly attacked by police linked to the Force Intelligence Department (FID). Four officers — Yarima Yunusa, Inspector Hasuruna Lamshi, Inspector Oliver Kutaya, and Raymond Ibrahim — were reportedly disarmed and detained.

“They opened fire on us without provocation,” Attah told the Senate panel. He added that no disciplinary action has been taken by police leadership since the incident.

He further cited a similar confrontation in Lege community, Ondo State, on 12 February 2025, where police allegedly shot at NSCDC officers during another operation targeting illegal mining.

On 8 April, CSP Abdulmajeed of the FID allegedly led a 30-man police unit back to Rafin Gabas, where four NSCDC officers — ASCII Salihu Nda Mohammed, ASCII Yusuf Attahiru, CAI Sambi Amos Joel, and CAIII Mustapha Mohammed — were reportedly assaulted and arrested.

According to Attah, the detained officers were pressured to implicate him but refused. He claimed that the police have since shifted focus to investigating the original complainants, Capital Apex Synergy, in what he described as a deliberate attempt to undermine the prosecution.

He added that despite declining to honour summons from the FID, he submitted a detailed written defence to the Deputy Inspector General in charge. To his shock, he later discovered that the police had secured a court order barring NSCDC access to the mining site — a move he believes was designed to shield illegal operators.

“The police are not merely interfering — they are actively obstructing justice and protecting those involved in unlawful mining,” Attah told lawmakers.
He urged the Senate to investigate the police’s role in the alleged sabotage and ensure the prosecution proceeds unhindered.