At least 12 miners have been killed by gunmen, with many of them missing in Faan district of Barkin Ladi local government area of Plateau State.
The Berom Educational and Cultural Organization, BECO, which revealed this in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, said that the gunmen attacked the miners while they were carrying out their mining activity on Tuesday night.
In the statement issued by BECO Chairman Dagallang Davott, who also acts as Secretary of the Mining Committee in Barkin Ladi, the gunmen suspected to be Fulani militants, attacked the miners while they were carrying out their activities and opened fire on them.
According to Davott, the attack was unprovoked as there was no motive or cause for it.
“On Tuesday, December 16, there was an attack in the Fan district of Barkin Ladi local government area. It happened overnight. The gunmen broke into the mining site and opened fire on the miners. Many of them then fled for their lives during the incident, but so far 12 people have been confirmed dead,” Davott said.
“According to the information we gathered, the attackers were Fulani because the survivors heard them speaking the language.
“Apart from the dead, many others were injured and others are still missing,” he said.