The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has exonerated the Commander of its Mining Marshals unit, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Onoja Attah, from allegations linking him to the diversion of N2 billion and an alleged cover-up surrounding the death of an operative, Deputy Superintendent of Corps (DSC) Levi Agada.
The clearance came as the Corps announced disciplinary measures against 79 personnel, including the dismissal of two Mining Marshals operatives for unlawfully supplying firearms to illegal miners.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, NSCDC Commandant-General Ahmed Audi, represented by the corps’ spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, said investigations carried out by the corps found no evidence implicating Onoja or the management of the Mining Marshals unit.
Audi said comprehensive investigations had cleared Onoja, the lead prosecutor and other members of the management team of any alleged complicity in the allegations that had trailed the unit.
“Allegations suggesting otherwise were found to be false and without factual basis,” he said.
The Commandant-General added that investigators also established there was no evidence of premeditated intent in relation to the death of Agada.
The clarification comes months after allegations circulated linking the Mining Marshals commander and members of his team to the controversial death of the officer during an operation in Nasarawa State, as well as claims of a N2 billion diversion.
Onoja had consistently rejected the allegations, describing them as false and part of a coordinated campaign to discredit the Mining Marshals and frustrate the unit’s operations against illegal mining syndicates.
Audi made the clarification while announcing sanctions against 79 personnel of the corps for various acts of misconduct.
He disclosed that two members of the Mining Marshals unit were dismissed and recommended for prosecution for unlawfully supplying firearms to illegal miners.
According to him, the actions of the dismissed personnel constituted grave misconduct, professional negligence and conduct prejudicial to the corps’ discipline and operational integrity.
“Consequently, both personnel have been dismissed from the service and recommended for prosecution in accordance with the law,” Audi said.
He explained that the recommendation followed investigations into the operational incident of February 18 in Nasarawa State, which resulted in Agada’s death.
The latest position by the NSCDC effectively separates the disciplinary measures taken against the dismissed officers from the allegations previously levelled against Onoja, affirming that the Mining Marshals commander was neither found culpable nor subjected to any administrative sanction.
Under Onoja’s leadership, the Mining Marshals have remained at the forefront of the federal government’s campaign against illegal mining, recording hundreds of arrests and prosecutions across the country.
