No fewer than three Nigerian soldiers and two vigilantes were killed by bandits on Tuesday in the Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
On February 1, 2024, bandits murdered three people and destroyed property worth millions of naira in the Katapka and Okudu settlements, prompting the Nigerian Army to deploy forces to the region to maintain peace and order.
Our correspondent, on the other hand, learned that as military personnel were working to restore order in the area, the bandits attacked them on Tuesday afternoon, killing three soldiers and two vigilantes.
On Wednesday, the Chairman of Toto LGA, Abdullahi Aliyu-Tashas, spoke with our correspondent in Lafia by phone about the tragedy and termed the soldiers’ deaths as tragic.
He said, “The suspected bandits laid ambush on the military personnel who were on patrol to maintain law and order in the area and killed three of them.
“The Katakpa community had been recently attacked, and as a result of that, the soldiers were drafted to Katakpa to maintain law and order, but they were unfortunately killed in an ambush on Tuesday afternoon.”
The council chairman went on to say that the state government had taken over the situation and was working to resolve it, and that more security personnel had been deployed to the region to prevent further breakdowns in law and order.
Meanwhile, the Bassa Cultural Development Union has urged Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule to apprehend the bandits responsible for the recent killings in the Katakpa community in the Umaisha District of Toto LGA as soon as possible.
The group made the demand in a statement issued by its chairman, Emmanuel Gbaji, on Wednesday.
“We, the Bassa community of Nasarawa State, have barely recovered from the shock of the attack on Okudu village when we received news of the attack on Katapka village. The unfortunate event came with the loss of three lives and the wanton destruction of property.
“We want to call on His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. A.A. Sule, as the chief security officer of the state to use his good office to fish out the perpetrators of these criminal attacks so that peace can return to the Toto Local Government Area.
“We want to send our deep condolences to the families and relatives of the victims, and we ask God to give them the fortitude to bear their loss. We are deeply pained by their loss, and we pray that God will comfort them,” the group said.
