Bandits have attacked a local mining site at Unguwar Magero village in Gurmana ward of Shiroro Local Government Area, Niger State, killing around 13 people at a local mining site.
The attack was reportedly unprovoked as the gunmen senselessly shot sporadically at miners it found on site. Some reports say the casualties could be significantly more than 13.
In a recent incident in the same general area, bandits kidnapped an unspecified number of people in the Bassa community.
The attacks occurred while Governor Mohammed Umar Bago is away, but Acting Governor Comrade Yakubu Garba condemned the attack and commiserated with the affected families and community.
He assured of the government’s “unwavering determination and commitment to taming the tide of insecurity in the State.”
Attacks on miners and senseless killings by so-called bandits are all too common in the solid mineral-rich Niger state – Nigeria’s largest state by landmass. Some speculate that rival mining cartels could be responsible for the spate of violence in the area.
Recently, Governor Bago issued a statement banning all illegal mining operations in the state, but the violence persists.
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