The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, says plans are ongoing to increase the Mining Marshal Corps in all states and FCT from 60 to 100 each.

Mr Alake said in an interview on Sunday in Abuja that the move was part of the federal government’s efforts to secure the mining operating environment to attract foreign direct investments and boost the country’s economic profile.

The Mining Marshal Corps, inaugurated on March 21, was drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to combat illegal mining.

The corps has 2,220 personnel, specially trained by the military in modern warfare as a rapid response squad with 60 deployed across the 36 states and the FCT.

“We are looking at adding to the number to get a minimum of 100 in each state from the 60 on the ground,” he said.

He said President Bola Tinubu`s administration was determined to sanitise and reposition the mining sector by implementing policy measures to attract big players.

Mr Alake said that prospective investors would need assurance of the security of the operating environment, their investment, equipment and personnel.

The minister said the insecurity situation at mining sites across the federation prompted the president to establish an inter-ministerial committee on January 17.

He explained that the committee was to produce a blueprint for securing Nigeria`s natural resources, which include mineral sites, the marine economy, and forests.

The minister said that while the committee was still deliberating on producing a comprehensive security architecture for natural resources, the Mining Marshal Corps had been established in the interim.

He said that the initiative was yielding the desired results, as more than 200 suspects had been arrested, 133 prosecuted, and two foreigners convicted for illegal operations.

According to him, states are requesting the deployment of marshals in areas identified as sites of illegal mining due to their success.

(NAN)