Formally receiving the marshals drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) from the Commandant-General, Abubakar Audi, representing the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Mr Alake charged the 2,200 operatives to stem theft and other nefarious activities around the nation’s mineral resources so that the country can reap maximum benefits from its God-given resources.
It will be recalled that as a result of the efforts of the presidential Inter-ministerial committee on securing natural resources chaired by Mr Alake, the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Ojo, a few weeks ago launched the NSCDC-led mines marshal, which represents the first layer of the new security architecture to secure the mining environment and to smoke out illegal miners and all those who flout the nation’s mining laws.
With a command structure spread across the 36 states and the FCT, the mines marshal will have their command and control domiciled in the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development(MSMD), with an initial 60 operatives deployed in each state and the FCT.
The mines marshal devised to be an inter-agency security outfit will incorporate special operatives from other security agencies like the Nigeria Police, army, amongst others. Its operations will largely be technologically driven.
In his remarks, NSCDC Commandant-General, Mr Audi stated that the new mines marshal will give verve to the corps’ mandate of protecting national assets and infrastructure in which solid minerals is a major component.
The new Mines Marshal is led by a Commander, Chief Superintendent of Corps, Attah Onoja.