Nine members of a local vigilante group were killed by gunmen believed to be bandits in Burra Forest, Ningi Local Government Area, Bauchi State.
The vigilantes were reportedly killed when they were on the trail of the bandits at their hideouts.
Yahaya Shuaibu, the Public Relations Officer of one of the local security organisations known as ‘Yan Ba Beli,’ a member of which was also slain in the incident, confirmed the story to Chronicle NG on Monday
“Of the nine people killed, only one is a member of our organisation.” The rest are members of another local security unit known as “Yan Vigilante.”
“We normally carry out combined activities to flush out bandits from the forest and the operation has been ongoing for weeks,” he went on to say.
Shuaibu also confirmed that the incident occurred on Sunday evening and that, based on the information they received, their men were successful in apprehending some of the gunmen in their hideouts in a mountainous area of Gamji village, but before they could leave, other bandits pursued them and opened fire.
Similarly, a Civil Defence officer is alleged to have been slain at a checkpoint in the Ningi Local Government Area. He was claimed to be performing ordinary checkpoint duties last night when he excused himself to urinate in a nearby bush when the attackers struck and killed him before fleeing with his weapons.
Members of the vigilante have recently earned popularity for carrying out attacks on bandits in coordination with regular security operatives.
