Nine people were on Tuesday killed at Ibi in Ibi Local Government Area
of Taraba State in a reprisal attack carried out by Fulani herdsmen to
avenge the killing of their kinsman by Tiv farmers.
Besides,
several people including women and children sustained varying degrees of
injuries in the attack, which occurred in the early hours of the day
while properties worth millions of naira including houses were
destroyed.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public
Relations Officer ( PPRO), Mr. Joseph Kwaji, told THISDAY that nine
bodies had been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary while those
injured are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
The
attack is coming on the heels of ongoing efforts initiated by the state
government to eradicate the incessant clashes between Fulani herdsmen
and Tiv farmers which have claimed several hundreds of lives.
THISDAY
investigations revealed that the crisis was sparked by the killing of a
Fulani herdsman who entered a farm belonging to a Tiv with his cattle
to graze, leading to massive destruction of the farm.
When news
of the killing of the Fulani got to the other herdsmen, they allegedly
mobilised themselves to carry out a reprisal attack on the Tiv farmers
and in the process, nine people were killed while others fled.
In
a bid to bring the situation under control and have first hand
assessment of the situation, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Ekechukwu Nwodibo, who resumed in the state penultimate week, arrived
the town which is about 270kilometres from Jalingo at about 9a.m. to
personally take charge of security in the area.
Though Kwaji told
THISDAY that no arrest had been made so far, he however noted that
efforts were on top gear to bring the perpetrators to book while also
enjoining the people in the area to go about their normal duties without
any fear of attack or molestation.
Hundreds of Tiv farmers had
been killed by Fulani herdsmen in recent years, while over 200,000 of
them were displaced from their homes and have just started returning to
their homes following the intervention of Governor Darius Ishaku before
the latest incident.
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