The Mining Marshals have defended the continued sealing of the Stone Rockers quarry in Abuja, saying the site will remain closed because it is central to an ongoing illegal mining trial before the Federal High Court.
The clarification was given by the Commander of the Mining Marshals, ACC John Onona Attah, following a petition by Stone Rockers Nigeria Limited to President Bola Tinubu and other government officials.
The company had challenged the 13-month closure of its operations, alleging that the shutdown was unlawful and not backed by any court order.
However, ACC John Onona Attah said the quarry was not sealed as an administrative sanction, but because it remains the locus criminis the alleged crime scene in a criminal case currently before the court.
Stone Rockers and its director, Kolawole Olaiya, are standing trial in Charge No. FHC/ABM/VR/338/2026 over alleged illegal mining activities within an area covered by a mineral title belonging to Lord’s Career Ventures Nigeria Limited.
According to Attah, the prosecution followed more than a year of petitions by the complainant company, which were referred to the Mining Marshals by the Ministers of Solid Minerals Development and Interior, through the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
He said the defendants were arrested at coordinates identified as longitude 7°17’24”E and latitude 8°52’11”N, which investigations by the Mining Marshals established were within Mining Lease No. 000395 ML, belonging to Lord’s Career Ventures.
The agency cited a January 23, 2026 letter from the Mining Cadastre Office, which it said confirmed that the disputed coordinates fall within the complainant’s licensed mining area.
Attah also disclosed that documentary evidence gathered during the investigation will form part of the prosecution’s case, including correspondence allegedly written during the investigation on behalf of the defendants.
He warned against attempts to resolve the dispute through administrative or extrajudicial pressure while the matter is before the courts.
The Commander maintained that public campaigns, petitions or alleged harassment would not deter the Mining Marshals from enforcing Nigeria’s mining laws.
On workers initially arrested during the operation, the agency said prosecutors had amended the charge to exclude them because they were employees acting for a disclosed principal.
Attah, however, said their subsequent involvement in protests over the quarry’s closure could prompt a review of that decision if further evidence establishes their involvement in the alleged offences.
The Mining Marshals also rejected allegations that their enforcement action was influenced by financial inducement, insisting that the arrests and sealing of the quarry were based on evidence gathered during investigations.
They maintained that the Stone Rockers quarry will remain sealed pending the determination of the case, while Stone Rockers continues to argue that its prolonged closure is unlawful.
The dispute remains before the courts, which will ultimately determine the competing claims of the parties.