Plateau: Officials and community leaders said on Friday that seven miners were shot and killed during an overnight attack at a mining site in Plateau State.
The attack happened late Wednesday in the Middle Belt region, which has faced ongoing communal clashes.
The Berom Youth Moulders Association said the victims, aged 15 to 28, were working at the site when they were attacked. The group described the killings as part of a pattern of assaults against Berom communities.
Emmanuel Solomon, a senior aide to the Plateau State governor, confirmed the deaths. Security forces from Operation Safe Haven, the military task force in the state, said troops found seven bodies and spent cartridges at the scene.
Reports said the victims stayed at the site even though night-time mining was banned.
Plateau is one of Nigeria’s most diverse states and has seen repeated violence, often tied to disputes between herders and farmers.
Local groups say the conflict is about ethnicity and religion, but authorities say criminal gangs and armed groups have attacked both Christian and Muslim communities, often for ransom.
The federal government says it is working to improve security and stop more violence in the region.
