Bandits kill 82, burn 100 houses in north central Nigeria

Abuja

The orgy of killings by bandits in Nigeria has continued as the terrorists attacked four communities in the country’s North Central Plateau state, killing more than 82 people.

The Nigeria police confirmed that the incident happened on Sunday night when the bandits attacked the communities in Kanam and Wasse local governments.

The bandits, who were recently officially declared as terrorists, operated for several hours without challenge, wounded several people, burnt almost 100 houses and displaced women, children and the aged.

According to reports, 36 corpses were recovered in Kukawa village, 24 in Gyambau, 10 in Kyaram and 12 in Wanka.

Those who sustained gunshot injuries were evacuated to Dangi General Hospital in Kanam and Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

“The Command is aware of the attack; policemen have been drafted to the area,” said Mr Ubah Gabriel, the public relations officer of the Plateau Police Command.

A distraught Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has vowed to make it difficult for terrorists and other criminals to set their bases in any part of the state to launch attacks on innocent citizens.

Irresponsible and barbaric

He described as irresponsible and barbaric the action of the bandits and promised that the culprits would be made to pay heavily for the crime.

The governor confirmed that security personnel had already been deployed to the affected areas to restore peace.

As the bandits spread their tentacles across north west and north central Nigeria, security operatives suspect there has been an infiltration of the various gangs by fighters and terrorists who are fleeing from a military offensive in north east.

The Nigerian Army, in collaboration with soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, have taken the battle to the enclaves of fighters of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).

The ground and air operation had seen the decimation of their camps in Sambisa forest and the Lake Chad region, forcing many of the fighters to flee.

Massive police deployment

The federal government of Nigeria has embarked on massive deployment of police in peaceful areas, just as the troops continue to tackle the terrorists and bandits in various locations.

The police on Monday rescued 39 kidnap victims in Zamfara, north west Nigeria and arrested 10 suspects including members of the outlawed “Yankasai’’ group, the commissioner of police in the state, Mr Eyuba Elkanah, confirmed.

He said that operatives rescued the victims abducted in March and in early April in various villages and locations in Bungudu and Maru local government areas of the state.

Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says international collaborations in military action and cross-border security interventions are yielding results in the fight against terrorism.

Regional synergy

Mr Osinbajo spoke on Monday in Abuja while opening the first Annual International Forum on the Development of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

The vice president said synergy between countries and stakeholders across the region and the Sahel were critical to the stability of the region.

“All of our successes in our fight against terrorism exemplify what we can achieve by working together.

“We therefore must continue to build on this spirit of cooperation in other areas of intervention and forge even stronger ties for sharing information and lessons from our different experiences.”