Locals recount how bandits killed 14 soldiers, eight vigilantes in Plateau community

Kanam Development Association (KADA), an umbrella body of the people of Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State says it was in Wanka community, Kyaram district of the LGA that bandits abused and killed soldiers and vigilantes.

KADA said in the attack which occurred on Friday, 14 soldiers and eight vigilantes lost their lives. The statement said many others were injured.

The group’s chairman and secretary, Barr. Garba G. Aliyu, and ND Shehu Kanam, while giving further details on the incident explained that it occurred when security personnel who were on routine patrol across the communities of Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau and other neighboring settlements were ambushed on their way to the attacked village.

The statement said, “The patrol team of the security had military personnel and local vigilantes operating in two vehicles.”

It stated that it is unfortunate that in the exchange of gunfire that followed the ambush, the nation lost brave defenders who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, stressing that a total of fourteen (12) military personnel, including two senior military officers, were killed in addition to eight (8) vigilante members who joined efforts to protect their communities.

The statement lamented the loss of security personnel and community defenders, saying it was painful and unacceptable. It pointed out that though some of the bandits were neutralized during the encounter, the loss of men in service was more painful.

The statement recounted how the bandits stormed Kyaram community, carting away properties worth millions of naira, including a large number of cattle belonging to innocent residents, saying the development further compounded the suffering of the already vulnerable rural communities.

KADA stressed that the tragic incident is not isolated as the communities around Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau, and neighboring settlements sit along the volatile border areas linking Plateau State with Taraba State and Bauchi State, saying that for over three to four years, the communities have been subjected to repeated attacks, cattle rustling, kidnappings, and destruction of property by armed bandits who appear to operate with alarming freedom.

It added that the Kanam Development Association had issued several press statements and had appealed to relevant authorities, calling attention to the worsening security situation in the rural areas, lamenting that sadly, despite these warnings and appeals, the crisis has continued to escalate beyond the imagination of the affected communities.

It, therefore, called on the Government at all levels to immediately intervene and rescue the communities from the grip of insecurity.

It demanded immediate deployment of additional security personnel to Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau, Wanka, and surrounding communities, and establish permanent security presence within the border communities to prevent further attacks and enhanced coordinated security operations along the Plateau, Taraba and Bauchi border corridor where bandits exploit the difficult terrain to operate.