A major scandal has erupted within Nigeria’s security establishment after the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mining Marshals arrested a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi, over allegations that he masterminded the escape of Chinese nationals standing trial for alleged illegal mining offences in Nasarawa State.
The Mining Marshals also confirmed that criminal charges have been filed against the senior police officer and other suspects for their alleged roles in obstructing justice and aiding defendants to evade prosecution.
The Chinese nationals are being prosecuted before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/131/2025 over alleged involvement in illegal mining activities.
According to a statement issued by the Mining Marshals, the controversy unfolded during proceedings before Justice M. S. Liman on Monday after the defendants failed to appear in court for the fourth consecutive time.
Counsel to the defendants, from the chambers of Kolawole Olowookere (SAN), informed the court that his clients were absent because they had been involved in a road accident. However, the prosecution challenged the explanation, noting that no medical records or documentation from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were presented to substantiate the claim.
Dissatisfied with the explanation, Justice Liman revoked the bail earlier granted to the first, second and third defendants and issued bench warrants for their immediate arrest.
The Mining Marshals alleged that subsequent intelligence uncovered a coordinated operation in which CSP Oyewumi, working alongside other police officers and with the alleged assistance of an immigration officer currently under investigation, facilitated the escape of the second and third defendants through the Nigeria-Cameroon border before June 3, 2026.
Investigators further alleged that the officer was finalising plans to smuggle the first defendant, Ren Quan Chen, out of Nigeria through the same route before the court’s bench warrant disrupted the operation.
Following the issuance of the warrant, operatives tracked Chen to an apartment in the Apo Legislative Quarters of Abuja, where they allegedly arrested CSP Oyewumi alongside the Chinese defendant and other suspected accomplices.
Among those arrested was a Chinese woman identified as Sun Hui, whom investigators alleged financed the officer’s activities, while Inspector Kingsley Monkap was also taken into custody and is said to be cooperating with investigators.
Commander of the Mining Marshals, Attah John Onoja, described the alleged actions as a grave assault on Nigeria’s criminal justice system, warning that any individual who assists defendants standing trial to escape prosecution becomes an “accessory after the fact” under Section 227 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and may face punishment under Section 127 of the Penal Code Act.
Onoja said the allegations were especially disturbing because they involved serving police officers sworn to uphold the law rather than frustrate its enforcement.
He further alleged that CSP Oyewumi had lived in the same apartment as the fleeing Chinese defendants for more than one year, raising serious questions about the nature of their relationship and the extent of the alleged conspiracy.
According to the commander, all suspects have now been formally charged in line with the Mining Marshals’ operational procedures and will be re-arraigned before the Federal High Court, where the re-arrested first defendant is expected to account for the whereabouts of the remaining fugitives.
The Mining Marshals disclosed that they have secured the Abuja apartment to preserve evidence while investigations continue.
During the operation, investigators allegedly recovered several rounds of live ammunition for double-barrel and pump-action firearms, quantities of suspected rare minerals, bank account statements and multiple electronic devices, all of which have been subjected to forensic examination as authorities intensify efforts to unravel what appears to be a far-reaching network allegedly shielding foreign illegal mining suspects from prosecution.