A 20-year-old miner, Abdulmuminu Muhammad, has been found dead in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. Muhammad was reportedly killed and dumped along the Gana Ropp-Barki Ladi road while returning from a mining activity on Saturday evening. His body was recovered by his relatives after a prolonged search.
Danjuma Ibrahim, a youth leader in the area, confirmed the incident on Sunday. The deceased’s grandfather, Imam Muhammed Abdullahi, described the killing as barbaric. “Yesterday, his relatives did not see him up to the evening, and they began to look for his whereabouts because everyone was worried. Around 12 p.m., they found him dead along the Gana Ropp-Barki Ladi Road. We are disturbed by what happened to him because the nature of the killing is barbaric and inhumane. He was killed and macheted. The killing has really touched us,” he said.
The deceased was buried on Sunday morning after a funeral prayer conducted in Barkin Ladi town, with hundreds of sympathisers in attendance. The spokesperson for the state’s Operation Enduring Peace did not respond to an inquiry.
The killing of a 20-year-old miner is a grim reminder of the violence that plagues Plateau State. The young man was simply returning from work when he was attacked. The brutality of the killing suggests a level of violence that is deeply concerning. The community is in mourning, and the government has not yet responded.
This echoes the 2021 killings in Plateau, which also saw young men targeted. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a community in grief and a government that is silent.
The winners: none. The losers: the family of the deceased; the mining community, which is now in fear; and the Nigerian state, which has failed to protect its citizens.
Bottom Line: A 20-year-old miner has been killed and macheted in Plateau. The community is in shock. The question is whether the government will investigate or the killers will go free.