Gunmen on Wednesday carried out a devastating raid on a mine in the state of Niger, Northcentral Nigeria, abducting at least four Chinese miners.
According to Niger State Police Commissioner Bala Kuryas, the raid in the Shiroro district resulted in the deaths of at least four police officers, two local vigilantes, and a few soldiers.
The Co-convener, Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State, Sani Abubakar Yusuf Kokki, as well as the Niger State Government confirmed the incident in separate statements issued on Thursday.
“During yesterday’s deadly encounter, a large number of casualties were instantly recorded at the said mining site being owned and managed by Chinese Nationals as the AK-47 rifle wielding terrorists gunned down their victims at sight as well as shot sporadically into the air thereby leading to more devastating consequence,” Kokki’s statement read.
“Information at my disposal further proved that about thirteen (13) people including seven (7) mobile policemen attached to the mining site probably as guards (providing security cover for the expatriates) and six (6) other civilians were gruesomely killed through an ambush while scores of others who sustained various degrees of multiple gunshots injuries (some in critical condition) have been taken to various medical facilities for treatment.”
Kokki claimed that numerous officers were shot dead by the attackers despite the fact that the surrounding Nigerian Army mobilized to counter the onslaught.
For the kidnapped Chinese nationals, a search and rescue operation has started. Although the perpetrator of the incident is yet unknown, Niger is one of the states in Nigeria that is most frequently the target of kidnappings for ransom.
The country’s north-eastern-based insurgents occasionally collaborate with the abduction groups. The kidnappers have historically targeted foreign nationals.
Chinese nationals have been more prevalent in Nigeria in recent years, particularly in the mining, building, and agriculture industries.
This is coming at a time bandits killed at least 22 soldiers and seven police officers in Northern Nigeria’s Niger and Taraba States.