19 arrested, murdered officer’s rifle recovered after Niger mining site attack

Nineteen suspected illegal miners have been arrested and a stolen rifle recovered following an attack on a joint security patrol in Zuzungi Kataeregi village, Niger State.

The arrests came after security operatives were ambushed on Wednesday during a routine patrol around a mining site. In the attack, a police officer was lynched and a patrol vehicle set ablaze.

Confirming the development, the spokesman of the Niger State Command of the Nigeria Police, Wasiu Abiodun, told The PUNCH on Friday that a police officer was killed, his rifle taken, and another officer injured during the incident.

“Report received on 11/2/2026 indicated that some miscreants/illegal miners attacked a joint security team attached to a company; millennium metals in Zuzungi village Kataeregi, while on a routine patrol around the company business premises.

“The miscreants attacked the team, burnt the company’s patrol vehicle and unfortunately, a policeman was lynched to death, his firearm taken away and another was injured.

“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police immediately deployed reinforcement to the area, and on 12/2/2026 about 19 suspects were arrested and the rifle was recovered.

“All suspects arrested are under investigation in SCID Minna. Further development will be communicated, please,” he said.

Earlier, the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Siyaka Aniviye, had confirmed the attack, describing it as “criminal, barbaric, and a direct assault on constituted authority and Nigeria’s economic stability”.

He maintained that the corps’ operations in the mining sector are supported by law, noting that mining sites and solid mineral resources are designated as Critical National Assets, and that illegal mining amounts to economic sabotage under Nigerian law.

Detailing the events, Aniviye said: “The joint patrol team, comprising personnel of the NSCDC, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), and local security operatives known as Anti-Drugs Control (ADC), in collaboration with Millennium Metals Mining Company, was on a lawful routine operation aimed at curbing illegal mining activities and preventing the unlawful smuggling of solid minerals from the mining site.

“While intercepting individuals suspected to be illegally smuggling extracted minerals from the mining area, the security team came under heavy attack by armed illegal miners.

“During the incident, the assailants set ablaze one operational Hilux vehicle belonging to the NSCDC security team.

“Regrettably, an officer paid the supreme price in the line of duty.

“His sacrifice in defence of Nigeria’s economic assets and public safety will not be in vain and is deeply mourned,” Aniviye said.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Thursday vowed to intensify its crackdown on illegal mining, describing the killing of a security officer in Niger State as a “criminal murder” and pledging that those responsible would be tracked down and prosecuted.