By Laleye Dipo in Minna
Nine miners have been reported dead in Kaffinkoro town in the Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was learnt that seven of the miners were buried alive while they searched for gold while the two others were reportedly shot dead by the police during a protest by the villagers.
The miners killed were not immediately known as at the time of filing this report.
After the first seven miners died, it was gathered that villagers and other miners reportedly mobilised to attack the security men that were posted to the area to stop what government had described as illegal mining.
In an attempt to stop the crowd, it was gathered that gunshots hit two of the miners resulting in their instant death.
An eyewitness blamed the police for the incident but an unofficial police source in the area said the police did not use live bullets to control the mob.
However, the police source claimed that the miners were armed with dangerous weapons and that they were the first to attack the security men.
