Nine family members, 12 others killed in Plateau

Nine members of a family were among 21 people killed on Thursday morning by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in Kukek community in Bakin Kogi, Foron District of the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State.

The remaining 12 were some of the herdsmen that were caught in the crossfire between them and members of a vigilance group.

Many members of the vigilance group sustained injuries in the attack that occurred hours before the Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee announced that terrorist hideout and routes on Nigeria’s border communities with Cameroun had been identified.

The armed herdsmen were said to have razed the home of a man identified as Tsok Gwom between 1 and 2am, killing nine members of his family.

The dead family members had gunshot wounds on their bodies.

The gunmen, who survived were also said to have stolen some cows belonging to some villagers.

The Interim Administrator of Barkin Ladi LGA , Mr. Habila Dung, told journalists that he received a distress call about the attack and immediately alerted security operatives.

He however said he had not been fully briefed about the incident.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Felicia Anselm, told our correspondent in Jos, that policemen had been drafted to the scene.

Efforts to reach the Media Officer of the Special Task Force, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, were not successful. A source close to him, however, said he led a team of soldiers to the LGA.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee has lamented the increasing terrorist attacks and other crimes at Nigeria’s border communities with sister nations.

A report submitted by the committee to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, on Thursday in Abuja, listed maritime axis, mountains, roads, rivers, waterways and streams as safe havens and routes for criminal activities.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Thursday that 180 Boko Haram members were killed by Camerounian troops during a gunfight in one of the borders between their country and Nigeria.

The Nigerian military authorites had recently claimed that many insurgents had fled to some neighbouring countries, including Cameroun, following the increased efforts to smoke them out.

Nigeria and Cameroun had on February 28 agreed to establish a transborder security committee in a bid to combat increasing criminal activities at their common borders and encourage peaceful coexistence.

Building on this, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambasador Olugbenga Ashiru, on April 5, 2013 inaugurated the panel to work towards the establishment of the committee.

Giving an insight into the report on Thursday, the Chairman of the committee, Maj-Gen. Babatunde Samuel (retd.), blamed high crime rate on porous borders between the two countries.

The committee identified terrorism, hostage-taking, illegal fishing, human and drug trafficking as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as forms of crimes being carried out through the border communities.

He stressed the need to amend some clauses in the transborder security agreement to make it more binding and enforceable by both countries.

Samuel requested greater commitment from both countries by providing more funds for the Nigeria-Cameroun Mixed Commission to complete the ongoing demarcation of borders between them.

The chairman also proposed joint patrol between Nigeria and Cameroun’s security agencies to combat the crimes.