- The vigilantes were brutally murdered when the bandits ambushed them at Kukawa and Bunyun communities in Kanam Local Government Area of the Middle Belt State
No fewer than seventy members of a vigilante group have been killed by bandits in a deadly attack in Plateau State.
The vigilantes were brutally murdered when the bandits ambushed them at Kukawa and Bunyun communities in Kanam Local Government Area of the Middle Belt State.
The vigilantes were attacked while on their way to bandits’ enclaves in a forest that shares a border with Bauchi and Taraba States, The chairman of the vigilante group in Kukawa, Aliyu Baffa, who confirmed the incident, said
Baffa said the unexpected attack on his team happened when a combined team of vigilantes from different formations in Wase LGA ran into an ambush set up by the bandits.
Baffa disclosed that the bandits were armed with sophisticated weapons and opened fire on the team, killing over 70 of them on the spot.
The vigilante Chairman stated that the slain vigilantes were buried in a mass grave the same day the attack happened.
He, however, expressed concern that there could still be more dead bodies in the bushes as many members of his team are still missing and unaccounted for.
“The clash occurred just a kilometre away from the main Kukawa town, when the bandits ambushed the vigilante team as they were heading to a bandits’ hideout located in the government reserve forest popularly known as Madam Forest, which shares a border with Bauchi and Taraba States,” Baffa said.
“We have buried more than 70 in Kukawa alone but more bodies could likely be recovered from either side. Our men were overwhelmed by the bandits who carried superior weapons,” he added.
A resident of the Bunyun village, Musa Ibrahim, who also confirmed the incident in his community, said the bandits killed 10 vigilante members who were providing security in the area, and also razed many houses in the community