Plateau Village heads on the run as bandits close in

Village heads in Bashar District in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State are currently on the run as a result of attacks by bandits.

Bashar is the hometown of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Ahmed Wase.

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Abdullah Usman, a resident of Sabon Gari village, told our correspondent that village heads and other residents had fled.

He said, “The kidnappers attack and kidnap villagers and ask for ransom. If you don’t have money, they kill you. In some cases, they tie you up with ropes.

“On Sunday, they attacked Sabon Gari village and killed three persons. Yesterday (Tuesday), they kidnapped two persons in Yalun village. We are in serious trouble. We are now at the mercy of kidnappers. Village heads of Bangalala, Kinashe, Aduwa and Achale have already fled their areas. The villages are under the total control of kidnappers.”

Abdulhamid Cikaaiki, a resident of Bunyum village, also told Daily Trust that they were planning to flee the village as kidnappers had dominated villages surrounding Bunyum and had been attacking them on daily basis.

The police spokesman in the state, ASP Ubah Gabriel, neither answered the calls placed to him nor responded to an SMS from our correspondent on the issue.

However, the spokesman of Operation Safe Haven, Major Ishaku Takwa, when contacted on the development, said the troops responded to a distress call in the early hours of Tuesday about the bandit attacks and kidnapping in Wase.

He said, “The troops responded swiftly and rescued the victim. The troops also neutralised two of the bandits and recovered an AK-47 rifle belonging to the kidnappers with 17 rounds of ammunition.”