Gunmen attack mining site in Nigeria, 12 people killed (symbolic photo)
Reuters, Abuja. At least 12 people have been killed and three others abducted when gunmen attack a mining site in Atoso village in Nigeria's restive Plateau state. This information was given by the leader of a local group on Wednesday.
Delyop Solomon Mwantiri, head of the Berom Youth Moulders' Association (BYM), said the attackers, identified by locals as armed Fulani militia, carried out the attack late on Tuesday, leaving five others hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Police spokesman Alfred Alabo confirmed that investigations were ongoing. The latest attack underscores persistent insecurity in the plateau region, a heartland of Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt region, where ethnic and religious conflict has long fueled deadly clashes between farmers and herders. Despite repeated promises by the government to restore peace, violence continues to increase.
Mwantiri said Tuesday's attack came just days after the killing of four children in a nearby village. He accused officials of ignoring early warning signs. BYM is urging the government to enforce a ban on open grazing and deploy more security forces to rescue kidnap victims.