Bandits kill 11 vigilante members in Bauchi oil community

Armed persons have killed at least 11 members of a vigilante group at Mansur village in Gwana district of Alkaleri Local Government of Bauchi State.

Residents said the attackers also rustled many livestock from the community.

A resident, Abubakar Bello, told PREMIUM TIMES that the victims were members of a vigilante group protecting the community.

The resident said the attackers ambushed the vigilantes, who were patrolling Mansur, Digare, and Yalo farming communities near an oil field in Alkaleri L.G.A.

Mr Bello said the attack caused panic in the farming communities where the people were preparing for the planting season.

The police spokesperson in Bauchi, Ahmed Wakil, said in a statement that the attack occurred around 5:40 a.m. on Sunday and also claimed the lives of some bandits.

“A combined team of professional hunters from Duguri and Gwana District, while on a routine patrol along Duguri, Mansur, and the Dajin Madam forest bordering Bauchi and Plateau State, encountered an ambush by armed bandits.

“This confrontation resulted in numerous casualties on both sides, including members of the vigilante group and the bandits themselves,” the police spokesperson said.

Mr Wakil said the police deployed an operational tactical team to the scene, who recovered the bodies.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that a group of quasi-security operatives and civilians from Sabuwar Sara village were ambushed by the bandits while attempting to flee from the attack.

Mr Wakil said the police tactical team conducted an on-the-spot assessment in Alkaleri LGA and engaged the stakeholders. He urged the residents to be calm, vigilant and support the police’s investigation.

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Non-state armed groups are terrorising communities in the Alkaleri L.G.A, kidnapping and forcing community members to flee in droves for their safety.

Alkaleri LGA shares a boundary with Gombe, Taraba and Plateau states. The boundary areas are rugged terrains with rocky hills that the criminals use as hideouts to carry out attacks.

In 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the first crude oil drilling project in northern Nigeria in Alkaleri

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