The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun Thursday extricated personnel of the Armed Forces and the police from allegations of providing security for illegal mining sites and miners in the country.
In their separate presentations at the hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals, the security chiefs denied culpability by their men.
Represented by the Director of Operations Defence Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ilo, the CDS said they only provide protection for legitimate requests made by legitimate miners, who operate in conflict-inflicted areas.
He said the Armed Forces of Nigeria is ever ready to give all the necessary support needed to stop this illegal mining. “It is not our primary duty but part of our responsibility as per the constitution is that whenever the civil authority tasks us to do something, we have no obligation than to do that.
“So, the Armed Forces to convey here that we are ready to support all the agencies involved in stopping illegal mining including the civil defence, police and the ministry and so on.
“Now to the question that you asked if the military is protecting any minefield or illegal miners. Most of the time, you find out that from reports reaching us from reliable sources the military and police providing protection for illegal miners.
“I want to state categorically clearly that is a fallacy. It is not true. If there are any such allegations, please we would want to know which of the mines or who brought the allegations so that we would take it up from there. If there is any such allegation, we want to know who brought that up, but as it is that is pure lie, sir.
“Legitimate requests are made for the military to give protection to legitimate miners that licence have been issued to in conflict inflicted areas. Once we get such requests what we normally do is we would write to the Ministry of Mines.
“In fact, we direct them to their letter to the Ministry of Mines. So, if the Ministry of Mines requests us because of the nature of the environment, because of the conflict, we do sometimes give protection to those people licensed by the government to carry out mining activities from the Ministry of Mines based on requests from the Ministry.”
While making his presentation, the IGP, who was represented by Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Ademola Hamzat, said no responsible organisation paid by the public would do anything that would be against the wish of the people.
He said, “The police, yes, we give guards to some individuals, who we can establish are under serious threat, especially in terrorism-inflicted areas. But from my own office, there is nothing to show that we protect any illegal mining site. We don’t do that.
“We have a procedure to even grant whoever we are going to guard. The procedure should be; we should know what you do for a living first and you must be able to establish to us the reasons you want personal guard because the police is supposed to provide general service to the people.
“So, if the people who actually give this, which is coordinated by the Inspector General of Police himself, are convinced that you are supposed to be given one or two guards for personal protection, they would grant. But none from my investigation that we have any mine that we so protect.”
Responding, committee chairman, Jonathan Gaza, said Nigerians need to know that they are making efforts to nip the problem in the bud.
