From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Residents of Rimi and Bagwas, farming communities in Yelwan Duguri and Gwana Districts of Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State have nothing but stories of horror to tell following invasion of bandits in their community in December 2022.
While 12 residents were confirmed brutally killed in Rimi, eight lost their lives in Bagwas in the attacks by bandits.
Our correspondent who visited the area reports that virtually all residents have deserted the two villages and fled to neighboring Plateau, Taraba and Yobe States.
The two communities are looking like a ghost town as only animals and a handful of youth with local Dane guns were left.
A survivor, Mohammed Auwal Zaki, married to two wives, said he had relocated his family to Yobe and Taraba States.
He said the bandits who numbered about 200 came on motorcycles, brandishing dangerous weapons.
“They came on Friday, shortly after most of us had returned from jummat (prayer),” he said.
Zaki said before they could gather themselves, the bandits started attacking people.
“They were shooting and cutting people with machete and setting other on fire,” he said.
As people scampered for safety Zaki said he managed to fee with his family across the tick forest and River Gwana.
“I was lucky because known of my family member was killed or injured. We kept running and running until we were safe
“One of my wives is now in Yobe with her children while the other one is in Taraba,” he said.
“They came about 4:30. We just heard sounds of gun shots everywhere I came running with my wives and I saw them setting houses ablaze”
“We had just returned from hervesting farm produce with bags of rice and maize, beans and so forth
They set them ablaze. I lost over 40 bags of maize and 100 bags of rice. It was terrible”
Alarmed by the horrible incidents Governor Bala Mohammed charged residents to defend themselves from callous bandits.
He described the attacks as unacceptable.
Governor Mohammed charged security agencies in the state to revisit their strategy against such devastating attacks by intensifying surveillance with a view to restore normalcy in the affected areas.
Inspecting the level of damage in the affected communities, the Governor lamented that the perpetrators took advantage of the forests that linked the local government with neighboring states of Gombe, Plateau and Taraba.
He encouraged the local vigilante groups to collaborate with conventional security outfits in carrying out daily operations, stressing that the informants would be fished out with a view to prosecuting them.
The Governor announced financial assistance of N1 million to families of the deceased and asked the State Emergency Management Agency SEMA to take inventory of the houses and properties destroyed to enable government provide relief materials.
The Commissioner of Police Aminu Alhassan said the police had responded to the attacks in good time and neutralised the miscreants in their numbers
He called on the communities to provide the police with information that would lead to apprehension of more criminals in the area.
Most of the communities who fled their homes after the attack have started returning after the opening Governor’s visit.
The communities attacked by bandits include Bagwas, Kafi, Rimi, Gobir and Mansir.