Tuesday, July 8, 2025 - At least 70 members of a vigilante group were on Monday, killed after bandits ambushed them at the Kukawa and Bunyun communities of Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Chairman of the vigilante group in Kukawa, Aliyu Baffa, who
confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said the surprise attack on his
team happened when a combined team of vigilantes from different formations in
Wase LGA were on their way to identify bandits’ hideouts.
Narrating how the attack occurred, Baffa said the team ran
into an ambush set up by the bandits who were armed with sophisticated weapons
and opened fire on the team, killing over 70 of them on the spot.
The vigilante Chairman added that by the evening of the day,
they had conducted a mass burial for the deceased but feared there could still
be more dead bodies in the bushes as quite a number of his members are still
missing and unaccounted for.
“The clash occurred just a kilometer 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 border with Bauchi and Taraba States,” Baffa said.
“We have buried more than 70 in Kukawa alone but it is
likely that more bodies could 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 vigilantes
members who were providing security in the area, and also razed many houses in
the community.
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