At least five miners have been killed and two others injured after gunmen attacked a mining site in Marit village, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident occurred around 1pm on Saturday while the miners were reportedly carrying out their activities at the site.
The attack has thrown the community into mourning, while renewing concerns over the safety of residents and workers in the area.
Confirming the incident, the National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association, Rwang Tengwong, said five people were killed and two others sustained injuries.
Tengwong described the incident as painful and urged security agencies to intensify efforts to protect communities and prevent further attacks.
A resident, Simon Mundat, also condemned the attack, describing it as devastating.
He appealed to the authorities to strengthen security in the area to enable residents to carry out their legitimate activities without fear.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain official confirmation from the security agencies were unsuccessful.
In a separate incident, security operatives, working alongside local hunters, reportedly repelled an attack by suspected terrorists on Latok community in Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area of the state.
A resident, Danat Noel, said the attackers invaded the community on Friday but were forced to withdraw following the intervention of security personnel and local hunters.
Several calls to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Alfred Alabo, seeking comments on the miners’ killing were unsuccessful.
Alabo reportedly ended three calls after being asked questions about the incident and did not respond to subsequent calls or a WhatsApp message sent to him.
