Six people were yesterday killed by
herdsmen at Korum, Orawua and Gidan Bature communities in Taraba state;
despite the order recently given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the
Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Army Staff to clamp down on
armed herdsmen attacking communities across the country.
The latest attack is coming barely two
weeks after herdsmen killed 19 persons in several communities in Donga
and Bali local government areas of Taraba State.
TARABASQUARE investigations revealed that the attack was launched on the
communities following the return of Tiv farmers who were displaced by
the crisis that erupted across Southern Taraba to their ancestral homes
on the orders of Governor Darius Ishaku.
Narrating the ordeal of the affected
communities, village head of Korum, Chief Emmanuel Chia told newsmen
that the armed herdsmen launched an attack on the villages around 2:00
am yesterday morning, killing six people.
Besides those killed in the attack, according to the village head,
several others sustained varying degrees of injuries while eight
vehicles were also set ablaze by the herdsmen, who razed the entire
community comprising of over 500 households.
Dozens of those injured in the attack
are currently receiving treatment at the First Referral Hospital in
Mutum Biyu as well as the MDGs clinic in Yerima and Ityav Clinic, a
private hospital in Yerima.
Also narrating his ordeal, one of the
locals and a victim of the attack who escaped being killed by the
whiskers, Terver Akporogh further told TARABASQUARE that the lands belonging
to the displaced persons were reportedly sold to the herdsmen to graze
their cattle by the Emir of Gassol, Alhaji Idi Ciroma and his local
chiefs (Dekeci).
“The Emir and his local chiefs sold our
farmlands to the Fulanis who came from other places to settle on our
ancestral land. We can’t farm because the Fulanis are not allowing us.
They claimed our lands were sold to them by the local chiefs and the
Emir of Gassol himself.
“The attack would not have happened if
the Emir had responded to security threats in the area when we reported
the problem to him. The little crops we have planted have already been
taken over by the herdsmen who turn our farms into grazing fields”,
Akporogh lamented.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),
DSP Joseph Kwaji confirmed the incident but noted that details of the
attack were still sketchy as at the tile of filing this report.
But the Special Adviser to the governor
on Security Matters, Wonukem Agyo told journalists that the Commanding
Officer of 20 Battalion, Serti and 93 Battalion, Takum have been
contacted to deploy their men to restore normalcy to the area.
Meanwhile, Rehemi Foundation and Association of United Igbo Gospel
Ministers yesterday in Abuja urged President Buhari to reach out in
person to the herdsmen in the country so as to stop the ongoing mayhem.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja,
President of the association, Air Vice Marshal Robert Konye Ekezie
(rtd.) stated that across the country, the Igbo man is being hounded
down by several forces, without the state intervening.
Ekezie said: “It is not news that the
Igbo is the favourite for attack by any group of mercenaries or
disgruntled elements in Nigeria. The recent attack on Nimbo Community,
Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State by suspected herdsmen
follows a pattern. It is a continuous war on Igbo’s man existence.
“The constant attack on the Igbos by
mercenaries, religious fundamentalists, and other disgruntled groups
must stop. An Igbo cannot go to another tribe to wage war against the
natives. If he’s ever there, it is for commercial purpose.
“We, therefore, ask our dear President Buhari, a man famed for
integrity, also known to be a Fulani, to find a way of appealing to the
Fulani herdsmen to stop visiting mayhem on Ndigbo.”
He further said, “the President as
number one citizen should treat every Nigerian, irrespective of tribe
and religion as his children, with the same responsibility to all.”
Ekezie explained that since the
“president has appointed the Service Chiefs without considering Ndigbo.
Ministerial positions are constitutional rights, and there was no way to
exclude the Igbos.
“Now is the time to right the wrong, as
the tenure of the present indefatigable Inspector General of Police,
Solomon Arase comes to an end in June, an Igbo man should be
considered,” he said.
Also, speaking, Bishop Junita Chinwendo
harped on the need for all Nigerians to shed off discord and return back
to peace and unity. Chinwendo told journalists at this critical time,
Nigerians must imbibe the spirit of unity in order to foster a common
ideology for the good of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment