The hooligans fought themselves with dangerous weapons before turning on other members of the community.
The police have arrested six suspects after a fight at an illegal mining site on Friday left two people dead in Niger State.
In the incident which occurred in the evening at the site in Maitumbi, a community in the Julius Berger Quarry site axis in Minna, hooligans had fought themselves with dangerous weapons before turning on other members of the community.
The two persons killed were identified as a seven-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man.
Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the hoodlums were gathered as part of a Sallah celebration on Friday evening when a fight broke out among them.
The hoodlums, many of whom were suspected to be acting under the influence of drugs, used knives and daggers to fight among themselves before turning on other people in the area whom they robbed of valuables such as money and mobile phones.
A resident of the area, Agnes Akin, said the hoodlums vandalised her car while she was in the area for a prayer meeting.
Narrating her ordeal, Mrs Akin said: "I parked my car at about 4 p.m. among other vehiteam members' cars, and we climbed the Maitunbi Mountain for a two-hour prayer session. Then, the rampaging youths came and destroyed my car. We watched as they flattened the tyres and broke the windscreens, but we were advised not to come down from the mountain because they could descend on us.
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"We watched them kill two persons, and fear gripped everyone in the area. We were supposed to conclude our prayers and leave the mountain at 6 p.m., but I got home at 9 p.m. because of the disorder and tension in the area."
Mrs Akin added: "Even this Saturday, when I went to pick up my car, we saw them gathering, and we had to move out of the area quickly."
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, said the police sent a patrol team to the area after they got information about a disturbance there.
He confirmed that the violence led to the death of two persons and that some suspects had been arrested. He said efforts were ongoing to arrest more of the miscreants.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Mohammed Bago, has warned that the state government has zero tolerance for rascality and thuggery.
He directed the security agencies to deal decisively with anyone involved in thuggery or other criminal activities, warning that buildings used by criminals would be demolished.
