Terrorists Threaten To Attack Miners If They Refuse To Pay Enforced Dues In Zamfara
A terror group said they will launch an attack on all miners at Kwali in Bukuyum LGA of the northwestern Nigerian state if miners and gold dealers refuse to pay an enforced levy of 10 per cent out of what they get from the gold mines.
Terrorists have threatened to attack a gold mine in Bukuyum Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria, because miners have not been paying them an enforced 10 per cent levy.
The threat comes after at least four gold dealers and a number of miners were abducted by the armed group on Nov 8. They were released on Nov. 28 and were told to go to the mine site at Kwali to tell the other miners the terrorists would be coming soon.
Miner Dansani Mohammed, released by the group after paying a N4.5 million ransom, told HumAngle about the threat. “The armed terrorist gang told us that they will come to our mining site to attack us if their 10 per cent share is not paid to them,” he said.
Four foreign nationals identified as citizens of Burkina-Faso and thought to be gold dealers at the mine, were also kidnapped.
A source close to the miners association at Kwali, who spoke under anonymity, told HumAngle that the gold dealers were unable to pay a ransom believed to be N10 million. Instead, they made a deal with the terrorists to be released on a bond. They agreed to “borrow” N4.5 million from the terrorists for their freedom, and pay it back within a month, in addition to the 10 per cent levy.
Miners often make a monthly remittance of 10 per cent to the terrorists as a kind of concession, so they are allowed to continue their mining activities.
HumAngle contacted the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Zamfara State Police Command, Mohammed Shehu, by call and text, but there has not been any comment at the time of this report.
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