A violent confrontation between suspected bandits and illegal miners has left at least seven people dead in Kuyello Ward, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to local sources, the clash erupted around 11 a.m. on Thursday in Kuyello, a community located in the eastern part of Birnin Gwari, which borders Zamfara and Katsina states.
Community leader Umar Maishanu said that the crisis began when a suspected bandit from Zamfara allegedly visited the area to demand a monetary levy from the illegal miners.
In the ensuing altercation, the bandit was reportedly killed and buried in a shallow grave by the miners.
In retaliation, members of the slain bandit’s gang launched a violent reprisal attack on the mining site, killing seven people, including several of the miners.
While police authorities have yet to release an official statement, reliable sources confirmed that a combined team of security operatives has been deployed to the area to forestall further violence. The sources also disclosed that some of the fleeing assailants, believed to have come from a neighbouring state, have been arrested.
The latest unrest comes barely a year after relative peace had returned to Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and Igabi local government areas following the non-kinetic peace initiative introduced by the Kaduna State Government. The initiative had led to the reopening of previously shut schools, markets, roads, and healthcare facilities.
However, in light of this renewed violence, community members are now urging the state government to impose an outright ban on illegal mining in Birnin Gwari to prevent further bloodshed and maintain the fragile peace in the area.
A Broader Threat to Regional Peace
The incident highlights a growing national concern over the dangers of illegal mining in Nigeria.
Expressing deep concern over the issue, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday described illegal mining as a major threat to regional peace, stability, and development across West Africa.
The President urged regional leaders to classify resource theft, illegal mining, and mineral smuggling as international crimes, stressing that these activities undermine the continent’s economic and political progress.
“The time has come for us to designate resource theft and illegal mining as international crimes that threaten regional stability,” Tinubu declared. “We must unite the world against the trade in stolen minerals from West Africa.”
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