Gunmen have attacked a mine in Niger State, killing some security personnel and kidnapping four Chinese nationals and other workers.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a major problem in northwest and central Nigeria, where heavily-armed criminal gangs known as bandits target communities, schools and businesses for abductions.
Chinese employees working on mines and large infrastructure projects in remote areas are often targeted for kidnapping and usually released after a short period in captivity.
Gunmen attacked the mine in Ajata Aboki village in Shiroro region of Niger state on Wednesday afternoon, the local commissioner for security, Emmanuel Umar said in a statement.
“A yet to be ascertained number of workers in the mining site, including four Chinese nationals, were reported to have been abducted. Security forces mobilised reinforcement for the manhunt of the remaining terrorists,” the statement said, noting that some of the attackers were also killed.
Umar blamed the attack on “armed bandits/terrorists”. Nigeria recently listed bandit gangs operating in the northwest as terrorist groups, in a move to give the military more flexibility in operations against them.
The statement gave no casualty figure, but said the state government commiserated with the security agencies and families of “slain personnel”. It did not name the mining business or say what material was being extracted.