Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed at least 12 persons in the Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The attackers who disguised as local vigilante group members stormed Dogon-Ruwa village in Bali, pretending to have arrived to arrest suspects.
They opened fire, shooting sporadically, and killed 12 persons.
Confirming the incident to journalists in Jalingo, the Taraba Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Usman, said over 50 persons have fled the community.
However, four suspects have been arrested in connection to the incident and are currently under strict investigation.
He also disclosed that animals were rustled from the community.
The remains of the victims have been conveyed on motorcycles to Bali town for Islamic burial.
It was gathered that in recent times, some locals go from house to house in search of bandits’ informants and in the process kill them to avert further banditry attacks.
Bali and Gassol local government areas have been plagued with banditry attacks and have also been a safe haven for bandits fleeing the military onslaughts in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina states.
According to the police PRO, the Commissioner of Police has given a directive to the divisional police officer of the Bali Local Government Area to hold a town hall meeting with the Fulani community leaders to bring synergy and avert escalation to other communities.
