A VIOLENT clash between some illegal miners and suspected bandits at Kuyello Ward in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State has left at least seven people dead.
Residents say the incident occurred around 11am on Thursday at Kuyello, in the eastern part of Birnin Gwari, bordering Zamfara and Katsina states.
A community leader, Umar Maishanu, told News Point Nigeria that one of the bandits reportedly came from Zamfara to demand a monetary levy from the illegal miners, and in the process, was killed and buried in a shallow grave by the miners.
He said that this led to a reprisal by the slain bandit’s group, who stormed the mining site at Kuyello and started attacking the people, and in the process, killed seven people, including some of the illegal miners.
Although the police authorities have yet to confirm the incident, a reliable source told our correspondent that a combined team of security operatives has been deployed to the affected mining site and community to avert any further attack.
The source also said the fleeing bandits, who came from the neighbouring state, were arrested.
The incident comes barely one year after relative peace returned to Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and Igabi local government areas following the non-kinetic peace model initiated by the Kaduna State Government, which has led to the reopening of schools, roads, markets and healthcare facilities.
However, following the latest incident, residents of the community are appealing to the state government to ban all forms of illegal mining in Birnin Gwari in order to prevent any further breach of the relative peace being enjoyed by the people.
The latest incident adds to the tragedy resulting from illegal mining in the country.
Worried by the issue, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday said illegal mining poses a grave threat to regional peace, stability, and development of West Africa.
Tinubu called on regional leaders to classify resource theft, illegal mining, and mineral smuggling as international crimes.
The President lamented that despite decades of independence, corruption and the plundering of mineral resources continue to undermine the region’s economic and political progress.
“I believe the time has come for us to designate resource theft, mining, and stealing of minerals in the region as an international crime that threatens regional stability and galvanise the world against threats from stolen minerals from West Africa,” Tinubu said.