At least seven people have been killed in a violent clash between illegal miners and suspected bandits in Kuyello Ward, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Residents said the incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Thursday at Kuyello, located in the eastern part of Birnin Gwari, which borders Zamfara and Katsina states.
A community leader, Umar Maishanu, told Channels Television that a bandit from Zamfara had visited the area to demand a levy from the illegal miners. During an argument, the miners allegedly killed him and buried his body in a shallow grave.
The bandit’s group reportedly launched a reprisal attack, storming the mining site at Kuyello and killing seven people, including some of the miners.
Although police authorities have yet to issue an official statement, a security source confirmed that a combined team of security operatives had been deployed to the area to prevent further violence. The source also disclosed that several of the fleeing bandits, believed to have come from Zamfara, had been arrested.
The attack occurred less than a year after peace was restored to Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and Igabi local government areas through a non-kinetic peace initiative introduced by the Kaduna State Government, which allowed schools, roads, markets, and health facilities to reopen.
Following the incident, residents have appealed to the state government to ban all forms of illegal mining in Birnin Gwari, warning that such activities threaten the fragile peace the community has recently regained.
A Regional Concern
The latest violence adds to the growing insecurity linked to illegal mining across Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu recently warned that illegal mining poses a serious threat to peace, stability, and development in West Africa.
Speaking on Tuesday, Tinubu urged regional leaders to classify resource theft, illegal mining, and mineral smuggling as international crimes.
He lamented that despite decades of independence, corruption and resource plundering continue to hinder economic and political progress in the region.
“I believe the time has come to designate resource theft and illegal mining as international crimes that endanger regional stability and to mobilise global action against the trade in stolen minerals from West Africa,” the President said.