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| ACC John Attah Onoja, Commander, NSCDC Mining Marshals |
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has effectively cleared the Commander of the Mining Marshals, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Attah Onoja, of allegations suggesting that he or his unit was implicated in the Corps’ recent disciplinary actions against erring personnel.
The clarification follows the NSCDC’s announcement that it sanctioned 79 personnel for various acts of misconduct and arrested 12 suspects over offences including employment racketeering, certificate forgery, illegal arms dealing and critical national infrastructure vandalism.
A review of the disciplinary actions announced by the Corps shows that neither ACC Onoja nor the Mining Marshals Command was listed among officers or units subjected to administrative sanctions.
The development comes amid sustained public attention over the death of Deputy Superintendent of Corps (DSC) Agada Levi Agada, a Mining Marshals operative whose killing has generated multiple investigations and conflicting narratives.
Earlier, Onoja had rejected a police report that allegedly attempted to link officers under his command to Agada’s death and to alleged suspicious financial transactions running into billions of naira. He described the report as misleading and maintained that it was designed to tarnish the reputation of the Mining Marshals and undermine the Corps’ ongoing crackdown on illegal mining activities.
The NSCDC’s latest disciplinary announcement appears to distinguish between its internal administrative actions and the separate investigation into the death of the Mining Marshals operative.
While the Corps sanctioned officers for offences ranging from job racketeering and financial misconduct to unauthorised use of firearms, it made no reference to ACC Onoja as being under investigation, found culpable or subjected to disciplinary measures in connection with the incident.
Security analysts say the absence of Onoja’s name from the list of sanctioned personnel lends weight to his position that allegations linking him or the Mining Marshals to wrongdoing have not been substantiated through the Corps’ disciplinary process.
Since its establishment, the Mining Marshals have played a key role in the Federal Government’s campaign against illegal mining, recording arrests, prosecutions and the dismantling of illegal mining operations across the country.
Onoja has consistently maintained that the unit’s successes have attracted resistance from vested interests benefiting from illegal mining, alleging that attempts have been made to discredit the outfit and frustrate its operations.
The NSCDC’s latest disciplinary exercise, however, contains no evidence implicating the Mining Marshals Commander, reinforcing the position that the investigation into the death of DSC Agada remains a separate matter from the Corps’ internal disciplinary proceedings.
