The Mining Marshals have defended the continued closure of the Stone Rockers quarry in Abuja, saying the facility remains a crime scene in an ongoing criminal case before the Federal High Court.

The clarification followed a recent petition by Stone Rockers Nigeria Limited to President Bola Tinubu and other government officials over the 13-month closure of its operations.

The company alleged the closure was unlawful and not backed by any court order.

However, the Commander of the Mining Marshals said the quarry was not sealed as an administrative sanction but because it constituted the locus criminis in a criminal matter pending before the court.

According to him, Stone Rockers Nigeria Limited and its director, Kolawole Olaiya, are standing trial in Charge No. FHC/ABM/VR/338/2026 over alleged illegal mining activities within a mineral title area belonging to Lord’s Career Ventures Nigeria Limited.

He explained that the prosecution followed investigations arising from a series of petitions submitted by the complainant company over more than one year.

The petitions, he said, were referred by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development and the Minister of Interior to the Mining Marshals through the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for investigation and prosecution.

The Commander said the continued closure of the quarry was therefore necessary pending the determination of the case by the Federal High Court.

He disclosed that investigators arrested the defendants at coordinates identified as longitude 7°17’24″E and latitude 8°52’11″N, which, according to the Mining Marshals’ findings, fall within Mining Lease No. 000395 ML belonging to Lord’s Career Ventures Nigeria Limited.

To support the claim, the agency cited a letter dated January 23, 2026 from the Mining Cadastre Office, which reportedly confirmed that the disputed coordinates are located within the complainant’s licensed mining area.

The Mining Marshals further revealed that part of the evidence to be tendered before the court includes correspondence allegedly written by a member of the defence team, Mohammed Olanrewaju Jibril, during the investigation phase.

According to the Commander, the letter, dated August 12, 2025 and allegedly written on the instructions of the defendants, contains admissions relevant to the allegations now before the court.

He maintained that the prosecution’s case extends beyond the disputed coordinates and correspondence, describing the documentary evidence assembled during the investigation as substantial and difficult to controvert.

The agency also questioned what it described as attempts by the defendants to seek administrative intervention while criminal and civil proceedings relating to the dispute remain before the courts.

“The issues raised by the defendants are already the subject of judicial proceedings,” the Commander said, warning against actions capable of undermining or prejudicing the ongoing cases.

He further alleged that the defendants were pursuing “every extrajudicial means” to frustrate the criminal proceedings and argued that their latest petition to the President did not merit official consideration.

According to him, the petition formed part of a broader effort to shape public opinion after what he described as unsuccessful attempts to harass him through petitions to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The Commander maintained that neither public campaigns nor institutional pressure would deter the Mining Marshals from pursuing the case.

“No matter the level of blackmail and harassment deployed by illegal mining and erring industry players, the Mining Marshals will not be deterred from ensuring that the full weight of the law is pressed very tightly against everyone who breaks the laws in the Nigerian mining sector,” he said.

He also appealed to media organisations to strengthen editorial gatekeeping processes to ensure that reports lacking sufficient merit or verification do not gain traction in the public domain.

According to him, the media remains a critical stakeholder in the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms in the solid minerals sector and has an important role to play in supporting lawful and responsible mining practices.

On the status of workers initially arrested during enforcement operations, the Mining Marshals said prosecutors had earlier amended the charge to exclude them on the grounds that they acted as employees of a disclosed principal and might not possess the criminal intent required for prosecution.

However, the agency said recent developments, including the participation of some workers in protests over the shutdown, have prompted a review of that decision.

The Commander disclosed that prosecutors have now been directed to consider relisting the affected workers in the criminal proceedings if evidence establishes a greater level of involvement in the alleged illegal mining activities.

The Mining Marshals also rejected allegations that enforcement actions were influenced by financial inducement.

According to the agency, the complainant company had repeatedly complained about financial losses arising from its inability to commence operations due to the alleged encroachment but had not provided any financial support or logistics to the Mining Marshals for the operation that resulted in the arrests.

The Commander stressed that enforcement decisions were based solely on evidence gathered during investigations and not on the financial status of either party.

He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to combating illegal mining and protecting legitimate mineral title holders, insisting that no amount of pressure, publicity or alleged blackmail would deter it from pursuing violators of the nation’s mining laws.

The dispute between Stone Rockers and Lord’s Career Ventures has generated multiple legal proceedings and competing public narratives, with Stone Rockers maintaining that its closure was unlawful while the Mining Marshals insist that the matter is now firmly before the courts for determination. (The Nation)