Bandits kill village head in Taraba, farmer in Kaduna

Bandits have killed the Head of Wuro Musa village, Jauro Kabiru Gambo, in Yorro Local Government Area of Tarara State.

The deceased was abducted alongside 17 people including seven women when bandits stormed the village on Friday.

Daily Trust gathered that the corpse of the late village head was recovered in the forest close to a mountain in the area early Sunday morning.

Sani Adamu, a source from the area, said late Jauro Gambo was buried at Jaka Da Fari Graveyard in Jalingo around 3pm Sunday.

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The source said sixteen others including seven women are still in the den of the bandits who had demanded N1 million ransom for each of the sixteen victims.

This latest incident has brought the number of traditional rulers killed by bandits in the state to four while seven family members of the chief of Mutumbiyu chiefdom were also murdered by bandits last year. When contacted, the spokesperson for the Taraba Police Command, SP Usman Abdullahi, confirmed the killing of the village head.

He said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Yorro Local Government Area confirmed the murder of Village Head of Wuro Musa, Malam Kabiru Gambo, by bandits. In a related development, bandits have killed a farmer and abducted 22 other villagers in Dinki and Kidandan villages of Igabi and Giwa local government areas of Kaduna State.

Jafaru Anaba, a community leader near Dinki village, confirmed the incident, stating that other villagers were missing.

He said the area was under siege by bandits, thereby making residents live in fear.

Anaba said, “We don’t know what is happening because we are under bandit’s siege as we speak. They attacked our villagers with impunity on Saturday night in Dinki village, killing one person and abducting about 16 others. We are still searching for others to ascertain the exact number of those abducted.”

He said despite ongoing military clearance operations in nearby bushes, bandits continue to invade communities, leaving residents unable to sleep peacefully.

In a similar incident, six villagers were abducted in Kidandan village, Giwa Local Government Area on Friday.

Sanusi Kidandan, a community leader, confirmed that five villagers were abducted around 7:00 pm at a dangerous spot called Shalele, while another person was taken from his farm.

He said one person who was shot by the bandits had been rushed to hospital for treatment.

As of now, there is no official statement from the state police command, as the Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, could not be reached by phone and was yet to respond to a text message regarding the two incidents.