Bandits have abducted at least five foreign nationals from Burkina Faso who were working at a gold mining site near Arafa village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The incident was disclosed in a post on X by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency and security expert covering the Lake Chad region.
According to the report, the attack occurred at about 11:15 a.m. on March 14, when a large group of bandits, reportedly hiding between Arafa and Gidan Dankande villages, stormed the mining site and forcibly took the workers to an unknown destination.
The heavily armed attackers reportedly fled into the surrounding bush shortly after the abduction. By the time security personnel deployed from a nearby Operation FANSAN YAMMA base arrived at the scene, the assailants had already escaped.
Security sources said efforts are ongoing to track the bandits and secure the safe release of the abducted foreign nationals, with security forces currently combing the area and gathering intelligence on their possible whereabouts.
The incident further highlights the growing link between illegal mining activities and armed banditry in Zamfara State.Over the years, the North-West’s mineral wealth—including gold, copper, and lithium—has become a double-edged sword, attracting both legitimate investors and violent criminal networks that exploit the resources for profit.
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