The Kanam Development Association KADA, an umbrella body representing people of Kanam Local Government Area in Plateau State, has given more details about a deadly bandit attack in Wanka community in Kyaram district.
According to the group, 12 soldiers and eight vigilante members were killed during the ambush.
The incident happened on Friday afternoon when bandits attacked a joint patrol team made up of military personnel and local vigilantes. Several others were also injured during the attack.
In a statement released on Saturday and signed by the chairman of the association, Barrister Garba G. Aliyu, and the secretary, ND Shehu Kanam, the group explained that the security team was on a routine patrol across several communities including Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau and nearby settlements.
The patrol team, which was moving in two vehicles, was heading toward a village that had earlier come under attack when they were ambushed by bandits.
During the gun battle that followed, the country lost several security personnel who were carrying out their duty to protect communities. A total of 12 soldiers, including two senior military officers, were killed. Eight vigilante members who joined the operation to defend their communities also lost their lives.
The group said some of the bandits were killed during the confrontation, but described the loss of soldiers and community defenders as painful and unacceptable.
After the ambush, the bandits reportedly invaded Kyaram community where they stole properties worth millions of naira. They also rustled a large number of cattle belonging to local residents, increasing the hardship faced by rural families in the area.
KADA said the attack is part of a larger security crisis affecting several communities in the region.
Communities such as Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau and other nearby settlements are located along border areas that connect Plateau State with Taraba State and Bauchi State. For the past three to four years, these areas have experienced repeated attacks, cattle rustling, kidnappings and destruction of property by armed bandits.
The association said the bandits appear to move freely across the difficult terrain around the borders of the three states.
KADA also explained that it has previously issued several statements and appeals to authorities, warning about the worsening security situation in the rural communities.
Despite those warnings, the association said the crisis has continued to grow and has gone beyond what many residents imagined.
The group is now calling on all levels of government including the local government, the Plateau State government and the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently step in and protect the affected communities.
KADA is demanding the immediate deployment of more military and security personnel to Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau, Wanka and other surrounding communities. The association also wants a permanent security presence in the border communities to stop further attacks.
It also called for stronger and better coordinated security operations along the Plateau, Taraba and Bauchi border corridor where bandits often take advantage of the terrain to carry out their operations.
