Suspected illegal miners on Tuesday launched attack on a joint security patrol team in Kataeregi (Zuzungi area) of Niger State. They killed one police officer and set an NSCDC Hilux vehicle ablaze during the attack.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun and the NSCDC Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, confirmed the incident.
Aniviye in a press statement, described the incident as a barbaric criminal act and an assault on national authority and economic stability.
He said the joint patrol team, comprising personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Police Force, local Anti-Drugs Control operatives, and Millennium Metals Mining Company, was conducting a routine operation to curb illegal mining and mineral smuggling at the site.
According to him, during an interception of suspects smuggling extracted minerals, the team came under heavy assault by armed assailants. The police officer, attached to the patrol, died in the line of duty, and the attackers burnt the NSCDC operational vehicle.
The NSCDC State Commandant stressed that mining sites are critical national assets, and illegal mining amounts to economic sabotage under Nigerian law.
He warned illegal miners to halt operations and vacate unauthorized sites immediately, promising intensified enforcement and prosecution for continued defiance.
He extended condolences to the fallen officer’s family, the police, and the security community, assuring justice will be pursued.
Aniviye appealed to the public to provide information that will aid investigations, while communities near mining areas are called to cooperate in restoring peace.
The Corps reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding lives, critical assets, and Nigeria’s economic integrity amid rising threats from illegal mining networks in the state.
On his part, SP Wasiu Abiodun in a statement said that the Commissioner of Police has ordered for an immediate investigation, arrest the perpetrators of this crime.
“Report received on 11/2/2026 indicated that some miscreants/illegal miners attacked a joint security team attached to a company; millennium metals in Kataeregi, while on a routine patrol around the company business premises.
“The miscreants attacked the team, burnt the company patrol vehicle and unfortunately, a policeman was lynched to death, his firearm taken away and another was injured. The Commissioner of Police has ordered for an immediate investigation, arrest the perpetrators of this crime and ensure that the arm is recovered”, the statement read.
