It has been confirmed that no fewer than five members of a local vigilance group were reportedly killed, and many bandits were neutralised in a clash between the two groups in the Kukawa and Bunyun communities of Kanam Local Government Area in Plateau State.

However, some reports by other media say that more than 70 vigilantes were killed in the clash.

Chairman of Wase Local Government Area, Hamish Anani, told journalists in a telephone conversation that the report was entirely unfounded.

According to him, the attack on bandits around Kukawa and Bunyun in Wase was highly successful, and many bandits were routed.

He stated that the community had buried only five vigilantes, while four are currently in the hospital, with three transferred to Bauchi Hospital and one recuperating in Wase Hospital.

Anani added, “Yes, the attack was true, but unfortunately, I saw a report this morning that 70 vigilantes were killed. The attack against the bandits was highly successful. We killed many of them and others retreated into the bush with a lot of injuries.

“As the chief security officer of Wase Local Government, I am categorically telling you that the report is not true. If 70 vigilantes were killed, we should be having a mass burial by now. We only buried five people, and four others are injured and in the hospital. Three were taken to Bauchi, and one was admitted in Wase Hospital.

“We have checked, and we don’t know the chairman of the vigilante group who told that story. We are trying to locate him to show us where he buried the 70 people.”

Residents of the area said that the incident occurred around 2 pm when hundreds of vigilantes from Wase Local Government were on their way to bandits’ hideouts but were ambushed.

Aliyu Baffa, chairman of the vigilante group in Kukawa, had earlier told newsmen that “more than 70 vigilantes were killed in the ambush,” adding that more bodies could be recovered in the bush.

According to the vigilante chairman, the clash occurred just a kilometre from Kukawa town, when bandits ambushed the vigilantes as they headed to a bandit hideout in the government reserve forest known as “Madam Forest,” which borders Bauchi and Taraba communities.

Baffa further alleged that several vigilante bodies were recovered from farmland after the clash, saying, “We have buried more than 60 in Kukawa alone. It’s likely that more bodies could be recovered from either side. Some bandits who escaped confirmed the vigilantes were overwhelmed by the bandits.”

Musa Ibrahim, a resident of Bunyun Nyalun ward, Bashar District, Wase Local Government Area, also confirmed that bandits attacked the community, killing ten vigilantes and burning many houses.

However, when contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Alfred Alabo said that he was not aware of the clash.