NSCDC seals 7 illegal mining sites, convict 14 on vandalism, cultism in Ebonyi 

….Said Ebonyi is safest state in S-East region 

By Uchenna Okeh Abakaliki 

The Nigeria security and civil Defence corps, NSCDC, Ebonyi State command at the weekend said it has shutdown over seven illegal mining sites in the state that are operating without licences and authorization.

The state commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Francis Nnadi, who made this known while interacting with journalists in Abakaliki to mark his one year of deployment in Ebonyi state, lamented over the rising artisanal mining in the state.

Nnadi who narrated the numerous achievements and other projects embarked upon by the command under his watch, said that; “I was deployed to Ebonyi State exactly on the 1st of October 2024by the Commander-General, who actually asked me to change the mantra,to come and make sure that the command is repositioned, revamped,and take it to the next step.

“The most achievements is about upgrading the skills of my personnel to compete and measure with the current trend in crime fighting.With asymmetric warfare, they’re facing now, how to upgrade our skills tomake sure the non-state actors don’t take over the states.

“And then, in collaboration with other sister agencies,we’ve been able to nip most of the crimes at the bud. But that, I wouldn’t have achieved without my management staff.

“I’m motivated to say, God has been with us.The governor has given us an enabling environment and support to make sure we carry out our duties.

“I’ll tell you, critical assets, of course, solid minerals is only under the purview of NSCDC.We have our mining marshals,the product of a synergy between the Solid Mineral Ministry and NSCDC, at that level, backed up by the presidency,and all other critical assets,we are going to have all telecommunication operators in the state to have a workshop to protect further all these assets.

“When it comes to mining,it’s on the exclusive list of the government.And then, those who are operating without the licenses, the authorizations,we have been able to seal about six or seven of them in the licensing. Of course, we believe in revenue generation.”When we seal your mining site, go and obtain your license and continue,we give you the opportunity. As long as you’re acting illegally,we shut you down. 

“And those who have refused to obey, we exclude them immediately.So, we have a few cases in the court now.Of course, court will determine their fate at the right time.But I want to use this opportunity to warn.

“Artisanal mining in the state is on the high side.And we’re working hand in hand with the Federal Mines Office,the Ministry of Solid Minerals in the state,to make sure there is a harmonious relationship among all agencies that supervise in this. Of course, with the NSCDC on the top.

“Now, for those who are doing this illegally,we have not caught up with you,time is coming, we’ll catch up with you. I will advise you, if you don’t have the requisite license to operate, please shut down before we come to you.Because if we get to you, there will be no room for you to say, I’m sorry,  and you will be prosecuted.

Speaking on the arrest of suspected criminals in the the state, he said: “Crime and criminality are supposed to be our business.Of course, they say security is everybody’s business, right?.But in a very short while, we’ve had so many arrests.

“We’ve got no less than 25 to 30 cases in court. We’ve got about 14 convictions for various crimes;Vandalism, cultism, and many crimes. So, the statistics are there. We’ve convicted about 14 or 17. And then, the arrests are so numerous, I can’t even count.

“So, like I said earlier, Ebonyi happens to be the safest state in the Southeast region,it’s not rocket science.It means that security agencies in the state are at the top of their game.And the synergy we are trying to enjoy here is not like any other state.

“We synergize, we come together, we share intelligence.Of course, for members of the press too, we do get intelligence.That helps us in liquidating crime.

The Commandant, Nnadi however applauded the governor, Francis Nwifuru for the various support he has provided for the NSCDC in the state; “Now, he has promised us some operational vehicles, which I’m sure is a talk-and-do government,that he will do it to us.

“The state is supporting me. Of course, if you look around, the government has approved the landscaping of the NSCDC headquarters.If you where here when the rains were heavy, we would not be able to work. But now the government is doing it.And that’s part of the support” he stated.