Following the killing of 12 persons and abduction of several others by bandits at a mining site at Unguwar Magero Village in Gurmana ward of Shiroro Local Council in Niger State, the Federal Government has vowed to avenge the deaths, assuring that security agencies are on the trail of the attackers.

Consequently, it has outlawed mining in the area pending the conclusion of investigations by security agencies.

Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, regretted the brutal killings and assured that security agencies would not rest until mines nationwide are safe from the incursion of bandits and criminal elements.

He said the Mining Marshals were working with intelligence units and other security agencies to make the recent attack a special case of collaboration of all agencies to track the hoodlums.

Alake said preliminary reports had fingered non-Nigerians’ active participation in mining businesses as funders of illegal operations, warning that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted for economic sabotage and waging war against the Nigerian State.

He warned embassies in the country to monitor the activities of their nationals in the mining sector, as allegations of criminal conduct pose serious threats to the bilateral harmony between Nigeria and other countries.

Sources had told newsmen that the bandits shot indiscriminately, killing the miners.

Others suggest the number of deaths could be higher, saying: “There are more than 12 people killed.”

In a related incident, on Tuesday, Bassa community, also within Shiroro council area, bandits kidnapped an unspecified number of people.

The back-to-back attacks have left residents in fear, as the hoodlums continue their violent activities in the region.