Bandits on Monday ambushed and killed seven personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) at the Kuriga mining site in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Five other personnel from a sister security agency and local security service were also murdered by ferocious bandits during the attack which occurred at 10am on Monday.

NSCDC Director of Public Relations, Olusola Odumosu, in a statement on Tuesday, said the personnel were attached to the Kaduna State Ministry of Mines and were on official duty at the Kuriga mining site when they were attacked.

“After the attack, the bandits carted away riffles of the slain operatives and the remains of the slain officers and men have been recovered and deposited at the Barau Diko Hospital Kaduna,” the statement partly read.

The Commandant General, Ahmed Audi described the unfortunate incident as a big loss to the Corps, families of the slain victims and the nation.

He commiserated with the families and friends of the deceased and prayed that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.

“In honour of the slain personnel, the CG has directed that the Corps’ flag be hoisted at half-mast and that a national prayer involving both Christians and muslims be organized at the Corps National headquarters, Abuja, to pray for Gods protection for all officers and men of the Corps in the new year and avert a recurrence of such awful incident,” the statement noted.

Birnin Gwari, one of the most notorious local governments in Kaduna, has heavy presence of terrorists.

Last December, a Senior Councillor of the Birnin Gwari Emirate, Zubair Abdurra’uf said the Ansaru terrorist group had established another government within Birnin Gwari and taxed helpless residents.

In May, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai also said Boko Haram and the Ansaru terrorists have taken over the Birnin-Gwari and Giwa local government areas in the state.

Kaduna, one of the seven states in the North-West geopolitical zone, has recorded increasing bandit and terrorist attacks in the last two years including the infamous infiltration of the Nigerian Defence Academy on August 24, 2021, and the dastard attack on a moving train on March 28, 2022.

The Kaduna State Government said 1,192 persons were killed by bandits and other violent groups in 2021 while over 3,000 residents, students, and travellers were kidnapped. So far, over 800 people have been killed by bandits, and more than 1,200 persons kidnapped in Kaduna between January and September 2022, according to official data.

By Kayode Oyero

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