Abuja, December 17: At least 12 people were killed and three others abducted when gunmen attacked a mining site in Atoso village in Nigeria’s restive Plateau state late on Tuesday, a local group leader said on Wednesday.
Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, head of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM), said the attackers, identified by locals as armed Fulani militias, opened fire on workers at the site, leaving five others hospitalised with gunshot wounds.
Police spokesperson Alfred Alabo confirmed that investigations into the attack were underway.
The incident highlights persistent insecurity in Plateau state, a flashpoint in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt region where long-running ethnic and religious tensions have fuelled deadly clashes between farmers and herders. Violence has continued despite repeated government pledges to restore peace.
Mwantiri said Tuesday’s attack came just days after four children were killed in a nearby village, accusing authorities of failing to act on early warning signs of rising violence.
The BYM has called on the government to deploy more security forces to the area, enforce a ban on open grazing and secure the release of those abducted during the attack.
