Follow Us on Google
By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
More than a thousand people, mostly women and children, have been displaced from their homes following a bloody communal conflict between the Mambilla tribe and Fulani herders across Geroji settlements, Mbamnga Ward of Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.
About 340 houses have been burnt down, with the victims, mostly children, women and the elderly, fleeing to the neighbouring Republic of Cameroon and nearby communities for refuge.
An unverified number of people, including a DSS personnel, were said to have lost their lives, while several others have gone missing, based on eyewitness accounts and information from some community leaders who were met at the sites of the affected areas.
Ardo Bashiru, one of the community leaders who spoke to journalists during a visit to the area at the weekend, disclosed that a number of livestock, including cattle and sheep, have also either been killed or rustled.
Bashiru said that several families were currently facing a serious humanitarian crisis as more than 340 houses sparsely scattered across the mountainous and difficult terrain of Geroji and Mbara were completely destroyed.
“Tonnes of foodstuff and other means of livelihood have been completely destroyed in the conflict that lasted for about three days from September 16, 2026,” the community leader lamented.
He appealed for urgent intervention from governments, individuals and humanitarian agencies, because, according to him, the rainy season, which was now at its peak, was taking its toll on the affected population.
He said that the victims had lost everything in the ensuing conflict, leaving them with no shelter, no food and no clothing.
The most affected settlements include Wuro Buba, Wuro Ardo Bashiru, Wuro Wakili Idrisa, Wuro Saleh Petel, Wuro Hassan Jaji, Wuro Alhaji Jibo, Wuro Alhaji Manu and Wuro Mbarkal, all of them in the Geroji community around the Mbamnga area.
The Chairman of Sardauna Local Government Area, Alhaji Mohammed Umar, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Gembu, headquarters of the council area, said in an interview that the conflict started from a fight between two individuals, a Mambilla woman and a Fulani man on the farm.
Mohammed, who described the incident as unfortunate, warned that anyone found disturbing the peaceful coexistence enjoyed by the residents would face the full wrath of the law.
He said the state government had facilitated the full deployment of security forces to the troubled areas.
He disclosed that arrangements had been completed for the repatriation of refugees who fled to Nyang, Donga-Mantung Division located in the north-west part of Cameroon.
The chairman appealed for assistance from governments, stakeholders and humanitarian agencies to come up with interventions to help in the resettlement, rehabilitation and reintegration of the displaced communities.
Also speaking, the Chief of Mbamnga, Alhaji Abubakar Saleh, appealed for calm and called for unity among the people whom he described as brothers and sisters that have lived in harmony for decades.
He assured that all hands are on deck to ensure that such conflicts, which were the first in his domain, do not happen again.
Our correspondent reports that similar violence took place across the Mambilla Plateau in 2017 and 2018 when hundreds of lives and property were destroyed.
