By Awwal Umar Kontagora The National President of the Nigeria Union of Mining Workers (NUMW), Comrade Musa Adamu Nasko, has accu...
By Awwal Umar Kontagora
The National President of the Nigeria Union of Mining Workers (NUMW), Comrade Musa Adamu Nasko, has accused the Head of the Mining Marshal in Niger State, SC Jibrin Mohammed, of alleged extortion and the diversion of seized gold for personal gain.
Nasko made the allegations on Tuesday while testifying before the Justice Mohammed Mohammed Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
He alleged that gold confiscated from mining sites by the Mining Marshal was sometimes sold, with the proceeds allegedly diverted for personal use rather than properly accounted for.
The NUMW president described the union's relationship with the NSCDC State Command and the Mining Marshal as cordial. However, he expressed concerns over the operational activities of the Mining Marshal, which he said undermined the statutory responsibilities of the corps.
He further told the commission that, as a licensed miner, he had made several requests to the then-suspended NSCDC State Commandant for the release of arrested miners, but his appeals were rejected.
According to Nasko, the suspended commandant had maintained that he had instructions to detain the suspects for as long as he deemed necessary before arraigning them in court.
Nasko disclosed that he learnt about the deaths in NSCDC custody from the Niger State Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Hon. Qasim Mohammed Danjuma, following which he delegated some union members to verify the situation.
He said 10 members of his union were among those detained, adding that six reportedly died in custody while four survived.
Also testifying before the commission, the Niger State Chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Malam Abdulrazak Yusuf Mohammed, said the association coordinates the activities of licensed miners, artisanal miners and mining cooperative societies across the state.
Mohammed told the commission that he was in his hometown in Borgu between September 15 and 17, 2026, attending to traditional engagements in his capacity as the Wazirin of the Borgu Kingdom, when he received information about the incident from the Commissioner for Mineral Resources.
He said he immediately contacted his deputy and directed some members of the association to visit the NSCDC facility to ascertain the number of miners being detained.
According to him, he was subsequently informed that 65 persons had been detained, of whom only 17 reportedly survived, while 48 were said to have died in custody.
Mohammed further disclosed that after establishing the reported death toll, with most of the victims said to have hailed from the Tunga area of Minna, he submitted a memorandum to the Ministerial Investigative Committee headed by retired Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Jonathan Kure.
The commission is investigating the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths of the miners in NSCDC custody, as well as allegations of misconduct arising from the operations of security personnel involved in mining enforcement.
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