While bandits seize Taraba settlements, police set up a coordinated patrol.

A significant number of settlements, specifically 15, within the Garba-Chede area of Bali Local Government Area in Taraba State, have experienced a takeover by heavily armed bandits.

The inhabitants have currently been resettled in the Kaigama chiefdom located in Garba-Chede.

While a portion of individuals managed to escape the neighborhoods, it has been reported that a number of people, including females and minors, were allegedly abducted by the perpetrators.

During an interview with our correspondent, Muhammed Gamfuru, the monarch of Gamfurum, a community impacted by the situation, reported that the bandits transport their captives to a mountainous location in order to engage in ransom negotiations.

The individual stated that he and his family, comprising his spouses and offspring, have been subjected to surveillance by kidnappers, compelling him to transfer his family.

The reigning king, currently residing in Garba-Chede, expressed that the only recourse available to the populace is to evacuate their cities and villages and seek refuge in secure regions due to the substantial presence of armed bandits, with each individual reportedly carrying two to three AK-47 firearms.

The individual expressed a sentiment of sorrow for the current count of those held captive within the confines of the kidnappers’ hideouts. It was mentioned that these bandits compel their captives to transport their belongings whenever they relocate their operations to a different site.

According to his statement, a total of more than one hundred individuals, consisting of around twenty women and children, have been subjected to abduction.

He urged the relevant authorities to implement steps aimed at eliminating the bandits.

Gamfuru recounted the recent liberation of six individuals who had been abducted, highlighting that their release was secured upon the payment of a sum of N7 million as ransom.

According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the state police command, Abdullahi Usman, in a telephonic conversation with our correspondent, it was conveyed that the command is cognizant of the situation and has established a collaborative patrol unit consisting of military personnel, local hunters, and community vigilantes.

The individual also stated that law enforcement officers were deployed on the day corresponding to Friday, and additionally mentioned that a greater number of officers would be dispatched to the locations experiencing unrest on the day corresponding to Monday.

According to our correspondent, the individuals responsible for the state’s current security challenges are believed to be the same group of criminals that previously fled from the North-Western states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto.