Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Federal Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are partnering to strengthen Nigeria’s response to criminal and terrorist finance related to minerals.

Consulting the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake recently, officials of the UN agency said the project, funded by the Canadian government, will strengthen the capacity of criminal justice actors in the detection, investigation and prosecution of illicit financial flows associated with conflict financing, including the financing of armed groups and money laundering in the solid minerals sector.

UNODC’s Project Co-ordinator on counter-terrorism, Mr. Tom Parker, who led a team including project officers Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, praised the minister for the establishment of the Mining Marshals and other measures to combat illegal mining, adding that the agency will work with the ministry to implement the project.

Responding, Alake expressed delight at the significant support that the project would give to the efforts of the federal government to combat illegal mining and other crimes funded by proceeds of illicit mining of natural resources.

He explained that the Mining Marshals were created from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to avoid the constitutional challenges of setting up a new security outfit.

“In the illegal mining area, we set up the Mining Marshals. When I got in here, I discovered we needed a new security architecture specifically for the mining sector. I sought the permission of Mr. President to set up Mining Marshals, and they’ve been doing a good job arresting and prosecuting illegal miners.

“The essence is to send a strong message that it can’t be business as usual. And it is yielding salutary effects. A lot of operators are trying to regularise their operations and are obeying the mining laws, “he said.

The minister said the president has approved a 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.

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