At least four Chinese nationals have been abducted by bandits at a mining site located at Ajata Aboki village via Erena Ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
During the attack on the mining site on Wednesday morning, three soldiers, seven policemen and six others were reportedly killed by the bandits while others sustained varying degrees of injuries according to the co-convener, Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State, Sani Abubakar Yusuf Koki.
In a statement he made available to journalists in Minna on Thursday, Koki said the mining site “owned and managed by foreign nationals has for a very long time become a place of attraction and a good target for criminals because of its juicy and lucrative disposition.
“Three soldiers, seven mobile policemen attached to the mining site probably as guards (providing security cover for the expatriates) and six other civilians were gruesomely killed through an ambush while scores of others who sustained various degrees of multiple gunshots injuries while some other victims who were in critical conditions have been taken to various medical facilities for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the state government has confirmed the attack and the abduction of the foreign nationals.
Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Emmanuel Umar, in a press statement, said: “Consequently, the joint security team engaged the terrorists adding that there was yet to be a determined number of casualties from both sides.”
The statement, however, stated that a yet-to-be-ascertained number of workers in the mining site including four Chinese nationals were reported to have been abducted by the hoodlums.
