Nine family members, 12 others killed in Plateau

                  

Nine members of a family were among 21 people killed on Thursday morning by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in Kukek community in   Bakin Kogi, Foron District of the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State. The remaining 12  were some of  the herdsmen that were caught in the crossfire between them and     members of a vigilance group. Many members of the vigilance group  sustained injuries in the attack that occurred hours before the  Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee  announced that terrorist hideout and routes on Nigeria’s  border communities with Cameroun had been identified.

The armed herdsmen were said to have  razed the home of a man identified as Tsok Gwom between  1 and  2am, killing nine members of his  family.

The dead family members had gunshot wounds on their bodies.

The gunmen, who survived  were also said to have stolen some cows belonging to   some villagers.

The Interim Administrator of Barkin Ladi LGA , Mr. Habila Dung, told journalists  that he received a distress call about the attack  and  immediately alerted security operatives.

He however said  he had not been fully briefed about the incident.

The Police Public Relations Officer,  Felicia  Anselm, told our correspondent in Jos,  that policemen had  been drafted to the scene.

Efforts to reach the Media Officer of the Special Task Force, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, were  not successful.  A source close to him, however, said  he  led a team of soldiers to the  LGA.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee has  lamented the increasing terrorist attacks and other crimes at Nigeria’s border communities with  sister nations.

 A  report submitted  by the committee to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, on Thursday in Abuja,  listed maritime axis, mountains, roads, rivers, waterways and streams as safe havens and routes for criminal activities.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on Thursday that 180 Boko Haram  members  were killed by Camerounian troops during a gunfight in one of the borders between their country and Nigeria.

The Nigerian military authorites had recently claimed that many insurgents   had fled to  some neighbouring  countries, including Cameroun,  following the increased efforts to smoke them out.

Nigeria and Cameroun had on February 28   agreed to     establish   a transborder security committee  in  a   bid to combat increasing  criminal activities at their common borders and encourage peaceful coexistence.

Building on this,  the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambasador Olugbenga Ashiru, on April 5, 2013 inaugurated the panel to work towards the establishment of  the   committee.

Giving an insight into the report on Thursday, the Chairman of the committee, Maj-Gen. Babatunde Samuel (retd.), blamed  high crime rate on   porous borders between the two countries.

The committee identified terrorism, hostage-taking, illegal fishing, human and drug trafficking as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as forms of crimes being carried out through the   border communities.

He  stressed the need to amend some clauses in the  transborder security agreement to make it more binding and enforceable by both countries.

Samuel  requested greater commitment from both countries by providing more funds for the Nigeria-Cameroun Mixed Commission to complete the ongoing demarcation of borders between them.

The chairman  also proposed joint patrol between Nigeria and Cameroun’s security agencies to combat the crimes.