From Gyang Bere, Jos
Suspected bandits have killed seven military personnel and one vigilante in some communities of Bashar Chiefdom in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.
This was revealed when the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee visited the affected communities. The suspected bandits had given quit notices to some communities in Wase local government area, warning the residents to evacuate the villages or be wiped out. The Village Head of Kanpani Zurak, Alhaji Dahiru Adamu, and other traditional rulers in Wase, revealed yesterday, when the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee went to investigate the wanton killings, kidnappings by bandits in the council area and communities neighbouring state.
The traditional ruler told the chairman of the ad hoc committee, led by Hon. Fulata Hassan Abubaka, Hon. Dachung Musa Bagos, Hon. Ugbonna Johnson and other members of the community were helpless.
He said the community had received serious threats, witnessed kidnapping of several people who always paid the ransom of N500,000 each, while some were killed by their abductors.
“Just this morning, the bandits released seven people after paying N500,000 each as ransom before they were freed; recently, they killed two soldiers and one vigilante in the community.
We also got the quit notice, recently, where suspected Fulani bandits said we must leave our villages or they would kill all of us, especially now that we are in farming season. We can no longer go to our farms,” he cried.
A resident of Bashar, Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, also told the ad hoc committee that five soldiers were killed on Tuesday by the bandits at the neighbouring villages to Wase and Taraba state.
“We are farmers and we cannot go to our farms again; over 3,000 of our cattle have been forcefully taken by the bandits. These are people that came either from Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto states who want to forcefully take over our lands and inheritance. We pray to the government to take immediate action and provide us with security.
“We don’t know where we are going to run to, and everyone knows that those people do not make empty threats. We are calling on the government and the security operatives to come to our aid.”
Chairman of the Committee, who doubles as the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Rules and Business, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, described as unfortunate, the insecurity ravaging the area.
Fulata said that the Committee would visit Governor Lalong to brief him adequately on their findings and interaction before submitting their report to the National Assembly.
Chairman of Wase Local Government, Dr. Ado Abubakar, commended the timely intervention of the House of Representatives in finding lasting solution to the incessant killings in the locality, saying bandits and terrorists.