The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kaduna State Command, has said seven of its officers were killed in an attack at Kuriga mining site, in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state.

Five other security operatives attached to a sister agency were said to have been killed in the incident, which happened on Monday.

The NSCDC spokesperson in the state, Olusola Odumosu, in a statement on Tuesday, noted that the personnel, who were attached to the state Ministry of Mines, were killed while on official duty at the site.

The remains of the slain officers and men were deposited at the Barau Diko Hospital mortuary, Kaduna.

“The Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, described the incident as a big loss to the corps, families of the slain victims and the nation.

“He commiserates with the families and friends of the deceased and prays that God grant them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss,” the statement added.

In honour of the slain officers, the CG was said to have directed that the corps’ flag be hoisted at half-mast and a national prayer organised at the corps national headquarters, Abuja, to avert a recurrence of the incident.