KEY POINTS
- Gunmen killed three women and wounded another person at a mining site in Rakum, Barkin Ladi, on Monday.
- Community leaders are urging security agencies to find the attackers and prevent more attacks.
- The attack follows a series of killings that led to a dusk-to-dawn curfew in parts of Plateau State.
Gunmen opened fire on a mining site in central Nigeria’s Plateau State on Monday, killing three women and wounding another person, local community leaders said.
The attack happened at about 4:30 p.m. in Rakum, a community in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Premium Times reported. The attackers stormed the site, shot at the people working there and then fled.
Rwang Tengwong, a spokesperson for the Berom Youth Moulders-Association, confirmed the deaths to journalists in Jos, the state capital. “This is another sad development that has further heightened concerns over the safety of people working and living in the area,” Tengwong said.
He called on security agencies to find the attackers and make sure those responsible are arrested and prosecuted.
Resident describes evening attack
John Silas, a local resident, said the gunmen arrived in the evening while miners were still at work. “The attackers came to the mining site and opened fire on the people there,” Silas said. He asked security forces to do more to stop further attacks on the community.
The killings come as tensions remain high across parts of Plateau, especially in Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos. The state government recently imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in those areas after a series of deadly attacks.
The violence has continued anyway. In an earlier incident, five people were killed at another mining site in the state, where soldiers also rescued a district head, Premium Times reported.
Plateau state violence continues
On Thursday, the Plateau State Government urged residents to stay calm and obey the law. It said it was working with security agencies to protect lives and property.
Plateau, in Nigeria’s north-central region, has seen years of deadly violence, much of it tied to land disputes between farming and herding communities. Rural areas such as Barkin Ladi have been among the hardest hit, and the attacks have left many residents afraid to work their land or go to mining sites.
Neither the police nor the military had commented on Monday’s attack by Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether anyone had been arrested.
