Follow Us on Google
By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
At least six people, including a 92-year-old man, were killed while several others were injured in an attack by suspected armed herders in a farming community, at Mararaba Azagwa in Maihula, Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The Taraba State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Gambo Kwache, who confirmed the attack in a telephone interview, however, said only two bodies were recovered by the police. Gambo noted that no arrest had been made, so far, but security operatives were combing the area in search of the attackers.
The attack, which occurred on Sunday night, was targeted at the farmers living within the Mararaba Azagwa and Allele villages. A resident of the area, Mallam Isah Abdul, told journalists on phone that trouble started when a Fulani man, who was drunk and high on drugs, was found dead on his way home from Maihula market.
“It is an unfortunate development. The relatives of the deceased, who later recovered his body, accused the Tiv villagers, where the man died of being responsible for the death of their brother. There was nothing actually to point to the fact that the man was killed. He might have probably died from complications arising from the alcohol and the drugs he took. But his relatives, who suspected he was killed by the Tiv villagers, mobilised and started attacking and killing people,” he said.
The Chairman, Taraba State Tiv Traditional Council, Zaki David Gbaa, who briefed journalists in Bali on the development, said six people were killed and four others were in critical conditions in the hospital. Gbaa identified those killed to include; Aondohemba Salemkaan, Tersuugh Dondo, Terkuma Mbatim, Kumaga Ujam Asaaga Nev and Tersoo Memga. The Tiv leader, who condemned the attack, however, commended the security agencies for their quick intervention to calm the situation.
He expressed confidence that the attackers would be arrested by security agencies and prosecuted, especially that all of them live in the community and could easily be identified.
