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Plateau South senatorial candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Solomon Dalung has decried the killing of the Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP Dennis David Babale, saying the circumstances surrounding his tragic death indicated that the security challenge in Plateau State goes beyond enforcing a night curfew.
Babale was reportedly ambushed and killed in broad daylight on Tuesday, September 22, while responding to a distress call along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road.
The deputy commander, who was travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, sustained gunshot wounds around 4:06 pm and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, where he later died, according to security analyst Zagazola Makama.
The Plateau State Police Command confirmed the killing along Gagshi Road, between Barkin Ladi and Bokkos, saying investigations were ongoing.
The killing occurred despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the Plateau State Government on Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas from September 21. The curfew restricts movement between 6 pm and 6 am.
Reacting in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Dalung said the incident should alarm every serious security authority in the state.
“This is no longer just about another killing in Plateau. A senior security officer was reportedly ambushed and killed in broad daylight while responding to a distress call,” the .
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“A security team responding to an emergency should not be walking blindly into an ambush,” the former Minister of Youth and Sports said.
Dalung questioned the operational accountability surrounding the response, asking who generated the intelligence that triggered the response, whether the distress call was properly verified, what intelligence was available about the route, and how armed men managed to position themselves to attack security personnel in broad daylight.
Dalung noted that since the attack occurred around 4 pm, within hours outside the curfew window, authorities cannot reduce the problem to enforcing a night curfew.
“The real test is whether the security architecture can prevent attacks, gather actionable intelligence and protect those deployed to protect the public,” he said.
He called for a full investigation into the ambush and for Plateau people to be told what happened, without hiding behind the usual language of “unknown gunmen”.
The former minister, however, cautioned against naming perpetrators without evidence or weaponising the incident along ethnic or religious lines until investigators establish who carried out the attack.
“CSP Babale was deployed to protect lives. His death demands more than condolences. It demands answers, accountability and justice,” Dalung added.
