About 70 vigilantes are feared killed in bandits’ ambush in Plateau State.
According to a report by Daily Trust, the vigilantes, who came from different communities, including those from Plateau and Taraba States, had been invited and camped in various areas within Wase Local Government Area (LGA), following incessant attacks by the bandits.
The vigilantes had on Sunday morning moved into the forest to engage the bandits but were ambushed in the process and massacred.
Unfortunately, the area has had history of bandit attacks. In April 2022, over 50 bodies were recovered in villages of Kanam Local Government Area after gunmen raided four villages, including Kukawa, where many people were reportedly killed and over 100 houses set ablaze, according to witnesses. The attack forced many villagers to flee to Dangi, the headquarters of Kanam LGA, for their safety.
On June 19, 2025, many bandits were reportedly killed in a clash with a combined team of vigilantes and soldiers around the Dutsen Zaki community in Wase Local Government Area.
On June 5, in some villages in Wase, soldiers and vigilantes busted bandits’ hideouts in Kadil Masudu, killing at least five suspected kidnappers.
On May 5, hundreds of residents of Dogon Ruwa community in Bashar District of Wase fled their community following the invasion by gunmen suspected to be bandits in the community.
On June 19, 2025, many bandits were reportedly killed in a clash with a combined team of vigilantes and soldiers around the Dutsen Zaki community in Wase Local Government Area
A source noted that the ambush and killing of the vigilantes occurred just one kilometer away from “the main Kukawa town” and that already, “we have buried more than 60 in Kukawa alone this morning. It is likely that more bodies could be recovered from either side.”
Musa Ibrahim, a resident of Bunyun, Nyalun ward, Bashar district, Wase Local Government Area, said the bandits attacked the community and killed 10 vigilantes, who were providing security in the area.
He said the attackers also burnt many houses in the community.
“In our community, 10 vigilantes were killed–five from Plateau and five from Taraba. They were buried this morning”, Ibrahim said.
Residents of Kukawa community alleged that the vigilantes who were on their way to the forest attacked their community and looted their belongings.
The chairman of the vigilante group, Baffa, said: “Around 1:30 am, while I was sleeping, I started hearing gunshots and began to ask myself what was happening. People started saying armed robbers had attacked the community, and when I went out, I later found out they were vigilantes who had come from Dogon Ruwan Safiyo, en route to fight bandits in their hideouts, because we have hundreds of bandits hiding in the forest close to the community.
“But to our surprise, the vigilantes started beating innocent residents of the community. They vandalized shops and looted phones. They also entered people’s homes and seized over 150 phones. They seized almost 30 motorcycles from the residents, claiming they would ride them to the forest. They were even accusing us of hiding the bandits in the villages. We told them that we were not hiding criminals, that the criminals were in the forest, and they should follow them to the area.
“They, then headed to the forest, but 20 minutes later, we started hearing gunshots from that direction, suggesting a clash between them. A moment later, we started seeing some of the vigilantes withdrawing, saying they were overwhelmed by the bandits. So, this morning, we reported to the DPO and other security forces in the area,’’ Baffa said.
Speaking to Daily Trust on the incident, Shapi’i Sambo, a youth leader in Wase, said: “The incident happened Sunday, and many of the vigilantes were killed.
“We are gathering information from some communities to know the number of those killed in the incident. But a lot of the vigilantes were killed. Maybe by tomorrow, we will be able to know the real casualty figures.”
When efforts were made to get reaction to the incident, the Spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Alabo Alfred, he did not pick several calls put across to him. He, also, did not reply to a text message sent to his mobile telephone line by our correspondent.
The Spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, Major Samson Zhakom, acknowledged receipt of an inquiry by our correspondent, but did not make any comment on the incident.
A security expert and a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police, Bulus Ajiji, said vigilantes need to be well trained to fight bandits.
He said if they had conventional training, they would not have been killed in that number.
“There are always a lot of things to consider when facing this kind of criminals. You have to be well trained before going to fight, especially in terms of movement to the area, because you must be very conscious. Again, whenever there is information about the activities of the bandits, people should have a clear plan on how and where to follow.
“Sometimes, people move without having intelligence. So, people need to be experienced before embarking on this kind of fight. The vigilantes should always move with security personnel, not alone, because security personnel provide support for this kind of situation. If you want to succeed in this fight, you must go to the field together. I’m sure if they had gone with conventional security personnel, they wouldn’t have recoded such casualties,” the security expert said.
Written with reports from Daily Trust
