Gunmen storm mining site in Plateau, kill seven

Gunmen have killed seven youths at a tin mining site in Gakok, Kuru community, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The attack reportedly happened in the early hours of Thursday when the assailants invaded the mining site.

Confirming the incident in a statement, the Secretary-General of the Plateau Youth Council, Jos South LGA chapter, Gyang Sunday Pwajok, said the victims were law-abiding youths trying to earn a living through legitimate mining activities.

Pwajok described the killings as brutal, adding that the young men were “peacefully striving to make ends meet through legitimate mining activities when their lives were brutally cut short.”

Pwajok said the incident deepens the pain of Plateau residents pertaining to the “unending cycle of orchestrated violence and bloodshed” in the state.

“These young men were peacefully striving to make ends meet through legitimate mining activities when their lives were brutally cut short,” the statement reads.

“This tragic incident further deepens the pain, fear and anger of our people, as Plateau State continues to witness an unending cycle of orchestrated violence and bloodshed. The persistent wave of killings is deeply disturbing and unacceptable.

“We mourn with the families of the victims and the entire Kuru community. May the gentle souls of the departed rest in perfect peace and may God grant their loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss.

“The PYC Jos South LGA Chapter hereby calls on the Kuru Traditional Council, youth organizations and relevant government authorities to urgently restructure and strengthen the Mining Sites Unions, empowering them to fully take charge of activities at all mining sites.

“This must include strict regulation, effective security coordination and the immediate ban on night mining, which has continued to expose innocent youths to avoidable dangers.”

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-terrorism publication, the victims were identified as Dung Gyang, 19; Weng Dung, 26; Francis Paul, 25; Samuel Peter, 22; Dung Simon, 28; Pam Dung, 23; and Francis Markus, 15.

The publication said when troops and police officers arrived at the scene, they found cases of 7.62mm ammunition.

The corpses were subsequently moved to the Primary Health Care Centre, Dabwak, Kuru.

Alfred Alabo, the Plateau police spokesperson, is yet to respond to enquiries on the incident.

In December 2025, at least 12 persons were killed, while three others were abducted, after gunmen attacked miners in Fan community of Barkin Ladi LGA, Plateau state.

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