October 10, (THEWILL) – Vigilantes and local hunters in Lere village, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, have killed at least 67 suspected kidnappers during a successful rescued operation of 28 kidnapped victims.
The traditional ruler of Lere (The Sarkin Lere), Jamilu Bawa, disclosed this when the State Governor, Bala Mohammed, visited him at his Palace on Monday.
Bawa said the victims were rescued without any ransom paid to their abductors.
“Security agencies in the state, led by the Commissioner of Police, technically, gave us all the advice and all the support that we needed. Just recently, we successfully killed 67 kidnappers and armed robbers and also rescued some of our people that were kidnapped and kept while waiting for ransom of N10 million, N20 million, N30 million, to be paid as ransom. They rescued 28 of them without a single Kobo payment.
“And we don’t take any step without the guidance and support of security agencies especially the Police, the Nigerian Army, DSS and the NSCDC”, he said.
On his part, Caretaker Chairman, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, Samaila Wakili, lamented that the area is becoming a hotbed of kidnapping activities.
“We, in Tafawa Balewa, have been plagued by great security challenges especially of kidnappers and armed robbers among others.
“For over 41 days, there is not a single day that people are not being kidnapped or our roads blocked by armed robbers, some of them are even killed. This has caused us great trouble.
“We kept meeting and discussing how to address these issues and at the end of the day, commanders of vigilantes and hunters saw that it was getting out of hand. They requested us to seek permission from security agencies to allow them to confront the bandits in the bushes. And Alhamdullilah, we recorded great success. They were able to arrest 36 of them”, he said.
Responding, Governor, Bala Mohammed, commended the vigilante and local hunters for their gallantry in recording the feat.
The governor, who was accompanied by the Commissioner of Police, Auwal Muhammad; heads of top security agencies including the Nigerian Army, Department of State Security and top government officials, said his administration would soon recruit 20,000 youths to compliment the efforts of security agencies.
“I have come to congratulate you and to thank you most sincerely on behalf of myself, the government and people of Bauchi State. What you have done has shown character, perseverance and community engagement.
“This is what we want to do in terms of tackling security in Bauchi State. I understand that you have rescued 28 captives and you have wasted, decimated over 60 miscreants and charlatans who have been terrorising our people.
“My colleagues from the North West have come together to fight this scourge of banditry and they are going to do it at the highest level with the support of the federal government.
“We are calling on the federal government to also support Bauchi State to fight banditry.
“We are taking the brunt. As they are working on terrorism we are getting the backlash because we are surrounded by seven states. We are a gateway to criminals and we are overstretched and working together with minimal support.
“You have to make sure that we go by the rules of engagement and make sure we are not extrajudicial”, he cautioned.
The Governor thanked the Commissioner of Police and other security agents for ensuring the rule of engagement in the fight against bandits and other criminal elements in the community was adhered to.
He also donated N10 million and 30 motorcycles to the community and promised to donate an additional vehicles and motorcycles to support the vigilante and local hunters to fight crime in the area.
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