At least 70 vigilance group members have reportedly been killed following an ambush by gunmen, in the Bunyun community of Kanam LGA, Plateau state.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday at about 2pm.
Aliyu Baffa, chairman of the vigilance group in Kukawa, said the massacre occurred just a kilometre away from the main Kukawa town, when bandits ambushed the vigilantes as they were heading to their hideout in the government reserve forest popularly known as Madam Forest.
According to Daily Trust, Baffa said at around 1:30am, he started hearing gunshots and residents began speculating that armed robbers had attacked the community.
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The chairman said he, however, discovered that the gunshots were from vigilantes who had come from Dogon Ruwan Safiyo to fight bandits in their hideouts.
“But to our surprise, the vigilantes started beating innocent residents of the community. They vandalised shops and looted phones,” he said.
“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.
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“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 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 “more than 70 vigilantes were killed” in the ambush, adding that more bodies could be recovered in the bush.
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“We have buried more than 60 in Kukawa alone. It’s likely that more bodies could be recovered from either side. Some vigilantes who escaped confirmed that they were overwhelmed by the bandits,” he added.
