The newly activated Mining Marshal Corp, which currently has 2,220 personnel, is an inter-agency security outfit established to secure the mining environment.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has directed mining new marshals drawn from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to smoke out illegal miners and all those who flout the nation's mining laws.
Mr Alake gave the directive while inaugurating the first batch of mining marshals drawn from the NSCDC to combat illegal mining.
He said that 60 marshals have been specially trained and deployed to the 36 states across the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The minister said the newly activated Mining Marshal Corp, which currently has 2,220 personnel, is an inter-agency security outfit established to secure the mining environment.
He said plans were underway for other security sister agencies to integrate their officers in to the outfit structure across the country for a robust output.
According to the minister, the ministry plays a pivotal role in supporting the operations of the mine marshals to ensure their success.
'Effective intelligence gathering through our state mines inspectorate, harnessing valid data of troubled mining areas and giving the requisite directives for precise operations are necessary factors for coordination of the activities of the marshals.
The minister earlier held a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, to discuss securing the mining environment.
Mr Badaru stated that the federal government was already making a headway in routing illegal miners, as clearance operations have commenced in some troubled spots.
President Bola Tinubu set up a presidential Inter-ministerial committee on 17 Jan to produce a blue print for securing Nigeria's natural resources, which comprises of mineral sites, marine economy and the forest.
The activities of illegal miners, just like pipeline vandals and other economic saboteurs, have been negatively impacting the revenue-generating capacity of the country for years.
While the government makes efforts to clamp down on such illicit activities, the illegal miners devise cleverer ways to continue their nefarious activities unabated.
