The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, have refuted allegations that their personnel provide security cover for illegal mining in Nigeria.
The denials were made during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Mineral Resources. The hearing, led by committee chairman Jonathan Gaza, took place on Thursday in Abuja.
The security chiefs were responding to accusations from the committee that members of the armed forces and the police were safeguarding illegal mining operations. These accusations were reportedly based on “reliable reports.”
Representing the CDS, Director of Operations at Defence Headquarters, Nnaemeka Ilo, stated that military personnel only protect legitimate mining activities in conflict-affected areas. He emphasised the military’s readiness to support efforts to curb illegal mining, saying, “It is not our primary duty, but part of our responsibility is that whenever the civil authority tasks us to do something, we have to do that. So, for the Armed Forces to be here, it shows we are ready to support the agencies involved in stopping illegal mining, including the civil defence, police and the ministry.”
He dismissed the accusations as “simply untrue,” adding, “If there are any such allegations, please we would want to know which of the mines, or who brought the allegations so that we would take it up from there. If there is any such allegation, we want to know who brought that up, but as it is, that is a lie, sir.
Legitimate requests are made for the military to give protection to legitimate miners that licences have been issued to, in conflict-inflicted areas. Once we get such requests, what we normally do is to write to the Ministry of Mines. In fact, we direct them to send their letters to the Ministry of Mines. So, if the Ministry of Mines requests us, because of the nature of the environment, because of the conflict, we do sometimes give protection.”
He clarified that such protection is limited to licensed mining activities as requested by the Ministry of Mines.
The Inspector General of Police, represented by Ademola Hamzat, also denied any involvement in protecting illegal mining operations.
He said, “No responsible organisation paid by the public would do anything that would be against the wishes of the people. The police often provide security to some individuals established to be under serious threat, especially in crisis areas. But, from my own office, there is nothing to show that we protect any illegal mining site.”
