From John Adams, Minna

Following last week’s killing of 34 soldiers, eight mobile policemen and a number of local vigilantes by unidentified gunmen at a mining site in Agata Aboki, Erena Ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities in parts of the state.

Though the governor is yet to visit the scene of the massacre, his directive is coming barely one week after the gruesome murder of 50 security agents, including local vigilantes in an attack the community described as the murder of all attackers in the area in the last five years of Banditry in the state.

The massacre of these security agents has attracted serious condemnation from political actors and stakeholders in the state, including the former Commissioner for information, culture and tourism and chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Jonathan Vatsa, who called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances which led to the killing of these security agents and the ownership of the private mining site being guarded by the military.

The suspension of the mining activities by the governor is contained in a statement by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, and listed Shiroro, Munya and Rafi local government areas as parts of the state affected by the suspension.

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According to the statement, “the decision to suspend mining activities become necessary as a result of escalating insecurity in those areas in recent times.

“It is observed that these mining sites now attract or even accommodate criminals with prospective threats to the security of lives and property, the statement stressed”, the statement further added.

The governor in the statement however warned that any mining operator caught engaging in mining activities in the areas mentioned would face the full wrath of the law, pointing out that “the State Government has directed security agencies in the state to profile all mining sites in the affected Local Governments with a view to ascertaining their genuineness”.

He assured the people of the state that 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.

The governor urged the people of the state to be security-conscious and report all suspicious characters, movements, or objects in their communities to security agents.

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