•Bandits
There was tension in Anguwan Rukuba, in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, following a deadly shooting incident yesterday evening.
It was learnt that unidentified gunmen, reportedly riding on a motorcycle, shot and killed an unspecified number of youths in the area, reports Channels TV.
A resident, who spoke to our correspondent via a phone call on condition of anonymity, said the attack occurred around the Anguwan Rukuba junction in the evening.
“The attackers just rode past and started shooting sporadically. People were running in different directions.”
In the aftermath of the attack, angry youths reportedly blocked major roads within the community, raising fears of escalating tension.
As of the time of filing this report, the Commissioner of Police, Bassey Ewah, and the Police Public Relations Officer had yet to respond to calls seeking official confirmation and details of the incident.
The latest attack comes weeks after no fewer than 20 security operatives and vigilantes were reportedly killed when heavily armed bandits ambushed a joint patrol team in Wanka and the surrounding communities of the Garga area in the Kanam Local Government Area of the state.
The Kanam Development Association (KADA), in a statement signed by its Secretary, ND Shehu Kanam, and Chairman, Garba G. Aliyu, said the victims included 12 security personnel, among them two senior military officers, and eight vigilante members who were assisting security forces to protect the communities.
According to the statement, the patrol team — made up of military personnel and local vigilantes — was travelling in two vehicles on routine security operations across the communities of Garga, Kyaram, and Gyambau when they were suddenly ambushed by hundreds of heavily armed bandits on their way to Wanka at about 2 p.m. on Friday.
KADA described the deaths of the security personnel and vigilantes as “deeply painful and unacceptable,” noting that the fallen operatives died while defending rural communities that have long faced repeated attacks.
The association added that after the ambush, the bandits reportedly stormed the Kyaram community, where they looted properties worth millions of naira and rustled a large number of cattle belonging to residents.
KADA warned that the incident was not isolated, stressing that communities around Garga, Kyaram, Gyambau, and neighbouring settlements located along the borders of Plateau, Taraba, and Bauchi states have endured persistent attacks, kidnappings, and cattle rustling for the past three to four years.
