Following bandits’ attack on a mining site in Ajata Aboki village in Shiroro local government area of Niger State, the State governor, Abubakar Sani-Bello, has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities in Shiroro, Munya, and Rafi LGAs of the State over continued bandits’ attacks until further notice.
It stated this in an issued press statement by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, adding that the decision to suspend mining activities in the affected three LGAs became imperative as a result of the escalating insecurity situation in those areas of the State in recent times.
Observers have pointed out that these mining sites now attract or even accommodate criminals with prospective threats to the security of lives and property of the citizens.
The SSG warned that any mining operator caught engaging in mining activities in the areas mentioned would face the full wrath of the law. According to him, “the State Government has directed security agencies in the state to profile all mining sites in the affected local government areas with a view to ascertaining their genuineness”.
He assured the people of the State that the government would not scale down pressure on the armed bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and other criminal elements until they were flushed out of the State, while urging them to be security-conscious and report all suspicious characters, movements, or objects in their communities to security agents.
