Gunmen have abducted the chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Nasarawa State chapter, Mr. Mohammed Bello, along with his mining manager, throwing the state’s solid minerals sector into fresh anxiety over worsening insecurity.

The victims were reportedly seized at a mining site in Udege area of Nasarawa Local Government Area, a zone long troubled by bandit attacks and kidnappings. Witnesses said the armed men stormed the site in large numbers, shooting sporadically to scare workers before whisking the chairman and his manager into the surrounding bush.

Local sources said the attack caused panic among miners and residents, many of whom fled the area. Several workers were said to have narrowly escaped as the gunmen moved directly toward the chairman’s vehicle, apparently acting on prior information about his movements.

Security operatives and vigilante groups were later mobilised to comb nearby forests, but there was no immediate breakthrough. Family members and colleagues of the abducted men confirmed that the kidnappers had established contact and were demanding a substantial ransom, though the exact amount has not been officially disclosed.

The Miners Association of Nigeria has condemned the abduction, warning that persistent attacks on mining operators could cripple investment in Nasarawa’s mineral-rich communities. Officials say many licensed operators are already scaling down activities or suspending operations over fears for their safety and that of their workers.

Community leaders in Udege and neighbouring settlements have appealed to both federal and state authorities to deploy more security personnel to mining corridors, arguing that the region’s economic potential is being undermined by unchecked criminality. They also called for better regulation of informal mining camps, which they say can provide cover for criminal gangs.

Police authorities in Nasarawa have confirmed the incident and said a combined team of operatives from the police, military and local vigilantes has been dispatched to track the kidnappers and rescue the victims. The command urged residents to provide credible information that could aid the operation, assuring that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

The abduction has renewed debate over the security of strategic economic actors in Nigeria’s hinterlands, where miners, farmers and transporters have increasingly become targets for ransom-seeking gangs operating across state boundaries.