70 vigilantes feared killed in bandits’ ambush in Plateau

He said the incident occurred just one kilometer away from “the main Kukawa town.”

“We have buried more than 60 in Kukawa alone this morning. It is likely that more bodies could be recovered from either side,” he said.

Musa Ibrahim, a resident of Bunyun, Nyalun ward, Bashar district, Wase Local Government Area, said the bandits attacked the community and killed 10 vigilantes, who were providing security in the area.

He said the attackers also burnt many houses in the community.

He added that vigilantes from different communities, including those from Plateau and Taraba States, had been invited and camped in various areas within Wase, following incessant attacks by the bandits.

He said on Sunday morning, the vigilantes moved into the forest to engage the bandits.

“In our community, 10 vigilantes were killed–five from Plateau and five from Taraba. They were buried this morning”, Ibrahim said.

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Residents of Kukawa community alleged that the vigilantes who were on their way to the forest attacked their community and looted their belongings.

The chairman of the vigilante group, Baffa, said “Around 1:30 am, while I was sleeping, I started hearing gunshots and began to ask myself what was happening. People started saying armed robbers had attacked the community, and when I went out, I later found out they were vigilantes who had come from Dogon Ruwan Safiyo, en route to fight bandits in their hideouts, because we have hundreds of bandits hiding in the forest close to the community.

“But to our surprise, the vigilantes started beating innocent residents of the community. They vandalized shops and looted phones. They also entered people’s homes and seized over 150 phones. They seized almost 30 motorcycles from the residents, claiming they would ride them to the forest. They were even accusing us of hiding the bandits in the villages. We told them that we were not hiding criminals, that the criminals were in the forest, and they should follow them to the area.

“They, then headed to the forest, but 20 minutes later, we started hearing gunshots from that direction, suggesting a clash between them. A moment later, we started seeing some of the vigilantes withdrawing, saying they were overwhelmed by the bandits. So, this morning, we reported to the DPO and other security forces in the area’’,Baffa said.

Speaking to Daily Trust on the incident,  Shapi’i Sambo, a youth leader in Wase, said, “The incident happened yesterday (Sunday), and many of the vigilantes were killed.

“We are gathering information from some communities to know the number of those killed in the incident. But a lot of the vigilantes were killed. Maybe by tomorrow, we will be able to know the real casualty figures.”

70 vigilantes feared killed in bandits’ ambush in Plateau

Daily Trust