Molly Kilete, Abuja
Gunmen killed two village heads, chairman of a vigilance group and two other persons in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State on Monday night.
Daily Sun gathered that the gunmen, numbering about 30, invaded the two communities of Bilango 1 and Bilango 2 in old Muri area.
Those killed were identified as Garba Dangari, the village head of Bilango 1, and Sarki Ali, village head of Bilango 2.
“The gunmen suspected to be kidnappers were said to be on retaliation mission over the killing of suspected kidnappers by hunters and vigilantes in the area,” a local vigilante volunteered.
The gunmen also reportedly abducted five children in the area before escaping into neighbouring Plateau State, the official said.
The slain victims, including the two traditional rulers, were buried on Tuesday. The police have deployed armed officials to the area.
Spokesman of the police in the state, David Misal, confirmed the attack. He said the police were investigating the attack but no suspect had been arrested.
Meanwhile, the police have swung into action to rescue the traditional ruler of Rubochi, in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Ibrahim Pada.
Pada, a third class chief and member of the FCT council of chiefs, was kidnapped by gunmen numbering over 40 on Tuesday night.
It was gathered that some of his sons, who tried to rescue him from the hands of his abductors, received serious injuries from the kidnappers who used machete on them.
The gunmen were yet to make contact with the family of the traditional ruler at the time of filing this report.
FCT coordinator of the Coalition of Indigenous Groups Association, Ezekiel Dalhatu, broke the news of the kidnapping.
However, the police said manhunt to rescue the royal father alive had commenced.
Deputy public relations officer in charge of the command, Yusuf Mariam, who confirmed the incident, said: “We are making effort to rescue the victim and we are also leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
For sometime now, kidnapping has become rampant in the FCT, especially in the villages. Kidnappers stormed Kuje, in a commando style and kidnapped 10 persons, including a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence officer.
It has also been observed that gunmen believed to be bandits fleeing military onslaught in Zamfara and Katsina states in the North-West may have taken the six area councils in a new wave of kidnapping.
On the night of that fateful Sunday, two persons, including a servicing policeman known as Selven was kidnapped.
The commissioner of police, Bala Ciroma, had during a press conference announced the launching of a joint counter-operation to rescue kidnapped victims in the FCT and secure vulnerable communitiesm especially around the Kuje-Pegi-Rubochi area.