Five miners have reportedly been killed while two others sustained injuries after gunmen attacked a mining site in Marit village, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident, which occurred around 1pm on Saturday, reportedly happened while the miners were engaged in their regular activities at the site.
The attack has reportedly left residents of the community in mourning, with locals expressing renewed concerns over the safety of people working and living in the area.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association, Rwang Tengwong, confirmed the casualties, saying five people died in the attack while two others were injured.
Tengwong described the incident as a painful development and appealed to security agencies to step up efforts to protect residents and prevent further attacks.
“It is a very sad and painful development. Our people are once again mourning the loss of lives to violence,” he said.
A resident of the community, Simon Mundat, also expressed concern over the attack and urged the authorities to strengthen security in the area.
“We are deeply saddened by this attack. We appeal to authorities to strengthen security in the area so that our people can go about their legitimate activities without fear,” he said.
The Plateau State Police Command had yet to officially confirm the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Repeated attempts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, Alfred Alabo, for his reaction were unsuccessful. Calls to his phone were reportedly unanswered, while a message sent to him also received no response.
The incident came amid another security development in the state, where security personnel and local hunters reportedly repelled an attack on Latok community in Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area on Friday.
A resident, Danat Noel, said the suspected attackers entered the community but were forced to retreat after security operatives and local hunters responded.
