Soldiers, policemen, civilians killed, Army commander missing in Taraba attacks – Reps

The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, observed one minute silence in honour of the “civilians, policemen and the six soldiers who were gruesomely butchered to death” by the bandits in Taraba State.

The House urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Faruk Yahaya; and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to deploy more security men to effectively secure the Takum Local Government Area of the state and fish out the bandits.

While urging intelligence agencies to take steps to fish out the sponsors of the bandits so that they are made to face the law, the lawmakers also urged the government at all levels to ensure that shortage of men in the Armed Forces is urgent addressed, “for we have too few armed men to combat the nature of the security challenges confronting the country today.”

In addition, the parliament urged the National Emergency Management Agency to urgently provide assistance to members of the affected communities in Takum LGA.

These resolutions were based on a motion of urgent public importance jointly sponsored by two members of the House from Taraba, Rimamnde Shawulu and Danjuma Shiddi, titled ‘The Unconscionable Killings of Civilians and Soldiers in Takum, Taraba State: Need to Increase the Capacity of the Armed Forces and Security Agencies to Forestall Further Loss of Lives.’

Moving the motion, Shiddi recalled that on May 10, 2022 (Tuesday), terrorists attacked Tati village in Takum LGA, adding that the farming community was razed by the attackers who had arrived in the area the previous night.

Shiddi noted that in response to several distress calls made by the residents, security agencies “mobilised scantily to the area,” while the bandits ambushed the security agents who were outnumbered.

“In the ensuing face-off, six soldiers were killed. This was after the bandits had earlier killed a policeman at a checkpoint and other civilians at Tati. The Commander of the 93 Battalion (of the Nigerian Army) is missing in action,” he said.

The lawmaker also recalled that security agencies, especially from the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army and some units of the Special Forces (Operations Wild Stroke) had engaged the bandits successfully last week and seized weapons from them.

Shiddi said, “The House is concerned that these bandits are increasing their reach and destabilising more parts of the country. The House is also concerned that these bandits operate in very large numbers and in this case, less than 20 military men are confronted by over 300 well armed bandits.

“The House is disturbed by these persistent and consistent killings of both security personnel and civilians that may dampen the morale of our soldiers and encourage the bandits to cause more havoc.

“The House is further disturbed that Nigeria has one of the lowest ratios of soldiers-to-civilian population and the men are overstretched, as operations are taking place in almost all states of the federation.”