Bandits Attack: FG bans mining after 12 miners killed in Niger

The Federal Government, on Thursday, banned mining activities after bandits shot and killed 12 miners at Unguwar Magro Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

The government also pledged to get justice for the victims.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, said that no form of mining will be allowed to occur at the scene of the attack until security agencies have concluded investigations into the attack.

While mourneding the brutal killings of innocent workers at the mining site, Alake assured that security agencies will not rest until mines across the country are safe from the incursion of bandits and criminal elements seeking to take possession of mineral-rich areas for illegal mining by violence.

Gunmen stormed the mining site and opened fire on the miners, leaving a trail of death in their wake.

The tragic incident occurred in Unguwar Magero, a community near Madaka and Magami that has been repeatedly attacked by bandits.

The Minister, in a statement by its Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, noted that the Mining Marshals are working with intelligence units and other security agencies to make the recent attack a special case of collaboration of all agencies to track the trail and pattern of operations of the bandits suspected to have infiltrated Shiroro local government from neighboring states.

He said: “There is a new Sheriff in town, and combating banditry in the mining sector is a mandate we are taking seriously. Those who think they can invade villages, kill innocent people to make way for illegal mining of their rich minerals, will be shocked to discover that it is no longer business as usual. With the Mining Marshals working with the intelligence community, we shall fish out these hoodlums and put their hands to the fire.”

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He said preliminary reports also fingered non-Nigerians active in the mining businesses as funders of such operations warning that anyone found will be prosecuted for economic sabotage and waging war against the Nigerian State.

He warned embassies in Nigeria 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 in the world.