Suspected illegal miners launched a violent attack on a joint security patrol team in Kataeregi (Zuzungi area) of Niger State, on Tuesday, February, killed one police officer and set an NSCDC Hilux vehicle ablaze.

The patrol, involving 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.

During an interception of suspects smuggling extracted minerals, the team came under heavy assault by armed assailants. The officer, attached to the patrol, died in the line of duty, and the attackers burnt the NSCDC operational vehicle.

NSCDC Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, who confirmed the incident in a press statement described the incident as a barbaric criminal act and an assault on national authority and economic stability.

He stressed that mining sites are critical national assets, and illegal mining amounts to economic sabotage under Nigerian law.

The NSCDC, as the lead agency protecting mining areas, vowed zero tolerance for violence against security personnel pointing that perpetrators face charges including murder, arson, and conspiracy, with a manhunt underway to apprehend them.

Aniviye 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.

He 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.

The Niger state Police Command also confirmed the death of one of its officials. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun in a statement to our reporter 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.