No Soldier Died In Katsina Illegal Gold Mining Site – Army

The Nigerian Army has debunked an online publication which alleged that 2 soldiers and 7 illegal gold miners were killed over a disagreement on gold nuggets in Magama village, Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina state.

Army Director of Public Relations, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement on Sunday that contrary to the publication, no military officer is permitted to participate in mining, whether legitimate or illegitimate.

Advertisement

An online newspaper, not THE WHISTLER, had reported that the soldiers and miners were killed during a gun duel.

The Army’s statement read in part: “According to the publication, the incident occurred when the soldiers turned down an initially agreed offer of 500,000 naira per pit from the miners, but afterwards, turned around to demand more money on discovering the large quantum of gold nuggets found by the illegal miners in one of the pits.”

Nwachukwu, however, said the story is baseless, unfounded, untrue and a mere figment of the writer’s imagination and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Nigerian Army.

He maintained that no Nigerian soldier was killed nor involved in any fracas with illegal miners in Magama village on 5 January 2022.

Advertisement

The military spokesman said; “Nigerian Army troops deployed in the North West are committed and engrossed in the fight against banditry and other criminalities bedeviling that region.”

“The general public are therefore urged to disregard the fake news as it is concocted to denigrate Nigerian Army troops, who are working tirelessly to ensure sanity and peace return to the North west region. We assure the general public of the unrelenting commitment of our troops to decisively tackle the banditry menace in the North West,” he added.

Leave a comment

Advertisement