Bandits Ambush Patrol in Plateau, Kill 20

Bandits ambushed a joint patrol of military personnel and local vigilantes in the Wanka community of Kanam Local Government Area, Plateau State, killing at least 20 people on Friday afternoon. The attack occurred around 2 p.m. as the team traveled in two vehicles through the Garga area, targeting communities including Kyaram and Gyambau along the volatile borders with Taraba and Bauchi states.

According to a statement from the Kanam Development Association, a local advocacy group, the patrol team came under heavy fire from a large number of heavily armed bandits. The exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of 12 security personnel, including two senior military officers, and eight vigilante members who had joined the effort to protect rural settlements. Community sources reported that several bandits were also killed during the confrontation, though exact numbers remain unconfirmed.

Following the ambush, the bandits proceeded to the nearby Kyaram community, where they looted properties valued at millions of naira and rustled a large number of cattle from residents. No civilian casualties were reported in the initial assault or the subsequent raid, but the incident heightened...