The Federal Government has vowed to avenge the brutal murder of 12 miners who were shot dead by bandits at Unguwar Magro Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The government assured that security agencies are on the trail of the blood-mongering criminals and will soon bring them to account.
Meanwhile, the federal government has ordered that no form of mining should take place at the scene of the attack until security agencies have concluded investigations into the crime.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who disclosed these measures in a statement, Thursday, mourned the brutal killings of innocent workers at the mining site and assured that security agencies will not rest until mines across the country are safe from the incursion of bandits; and criminal elements seeking to take possession of mineral-rich areas for illegal mining by violence.
The Minister said Mining Marshals are working closely with intelligence units and other security agencies to make the recent attack a special case of collaboration of all agencies to track the trail and pattern of operations of the bandits suspected to have infiltrated Shiroro Local Government Area from neighbouring states.
Alake continues: “There is a new Sheriff in town, and combating banditry in the mining sector is a mandate we are taking seriously. Those who think they can invade villages, kill innocent people to make way for illegal mining of their rich minerals, will be shocked to discover that it is no longer business as usual. With the Mining Marshals working with the intelligence community, we shall fish out these hoodlums and put their hands to the fire.”
The Minister revealed that preliminary reports also fingered non-Nigerians active in the mining businesses as funders of such operations, warning that anyone found culpable will be prosecuted for economic sabotage and waging war against the Nigerian State.
He warned embassies in Nigeria to monitor the activities of their nationals in the mining sector as allegations of criminal conduct pose serious threats to the bilateral harmony between Nigeria and other countries in the world.