There is tension in Nasarawa State following the killing of three soldiers and two vigilantes by a suspected militia group in Umaisha District, Toto Local Government Area of the state.
Daily Trust reported that on February 1, 2024, some yet-to-be-identified gunmen murdered three persons and destroyed property worth millions of naira in an attack on the village.
Our correspondent learnt that gunmen also lunched an attack recently on Okudu village and killed several persons.
Some army personnel had been deployed in Katakpa and Okudu villages to maintain law and order following the persistent communal crisis in the area.
The Chairman of Toto LGA, Mr. Abdullahi Aliyu-Tashas, who confirmed the soldiers’ killing to our correspondent on Wednesday, said some hoodlums ambushed the military who were on patrol.
He said, “They attacked four communities in Katakpa village and as a result of that, the soldiers were drafted to Katakpa village to maintain law and order. While the soldiers were on patrol, they ambushed them and killed three soldiers on Tuesday afternoon.”
According to him, the state government had taken over the matter.
“As I am talking to you, I am with the ambulance conveying the dead bodies of the soldiers,” he added.
He said that the security operatives were already on the ground, patrolling the entire Katakpa village to prevent escalation of the attack.
Meanwhile, the Bassa Cultural Development Union (BCDU), has called on Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State to as a matter of urgency to fish out those behind the attack on Katakpa vIllage.
This was contained in a statement signed by its chairman, Mr. Emmanuel M. Gbaji and obtained by Daily Trust in Lafia, on Wednesday.
He said, “We have firmly resolved to live in peace with them. We are not lying. We are not being deceitful. We are sincere. It is natural to want to seek revenge, but in this case, seeking revenge will only create the atmosphere of chaos that the wicked brains behind the whole crisis want.
“We, the Bassa Community of Nasarawa State, have barely recovered from the shock of the attack on Okudu village when we received news of the attack on Katapka vIllage on the 1st of February 2024. The unfortunate event came with the loss of three lives and wanton destruction of property.
“We want to call on His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. AA Sule, as the Chief Security Officer of the state, to use his good offices to fish out the perpetrators of these criminal attacks so that peace can return to Toto Local Government Area.”
