The Federal Government has partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against illicit financial flows, terrorism financing, and money laundering within the solid minerals sector.
This was the fallout of a meeting between the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, and UNODC officials held at the ministry headquarters in Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the media aide to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the initiative seeks to enhance the capacity of Nigeria’s criminal justice institutions to detect, investigate and prosecute financial crimes linked to illegal mining and the financing of armed groups.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Minister in Abuja, UNODC’s Counter-Terrorism Project Coordinator, Mr. Tom Parker, commended Nigeria’s recent strides in sanitising the mining sector, particularly the establishment of the Mining Marshals, a specialised security unit drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
He said the project will be funded by the Government of Canada.
Parker, who led a team of project officers including Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, noted that the UN agency would collaborate closely with the Ministry to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
In his response, the minister described the partnership as a major boost to the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms in the sector, especially in tackling illegal mining and associated security threats.
“We are excited about this collaboration. The support from the UNODC and the Canadian Government will further strengthen our resolve to dismantle the criminal networks profiting from our mineral wealth and using it to fund conflict and insecurity,” Alake said.
He added that the mining marshals, who have already commenced nationwide operations, were created to bypass the constitutional hurdles of establishing a new security outfit.
“When I assumed office, I saw the urgent need for a dedicated security architecture for the mining sector. I obtained presidential approval to set up the Mining Marshals under the NSCDC, and they’ve been making arrests and prosecuting offenders.
“This sends a clear message that illegal mining will no longer be tolerated,” the minister added.
The partnership comes amid growing concerns over the link between illegal mining, armed banditry, and terrorism financing in Nigeria’s resource-rich regions. Security experts and development partners have long called for a coordinated approach to addressing the opaque mineral trade, which often fuels insecurity and denies the country billions in revenue.
Alake also revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the deployment of satellite-based mine surveillance technology to help security agencies monitor remote mining sites in real-time and swiftly respond to illegal operations.
He said, “The new satellite monitoring system for mines to further curb malpractices and enable the security operatives to identify the location of the incident and mobilise the necessary forces to the site.”
(Punch)
