Again, Suspected Herdsmen Kill 12 in Taraba

• Five killed in suicide attacks on Borno
Wole Ayodele in Jalingo and Michael Olugbode, in Maiduguri
At least 12 people were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen between Sunday and Monday at Gazabu, Tukun Ruwa, Utsua Daa, Kungana and Kpenkpen villages in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Besides, scores of people sustained serious injuries in the attack and are currently receiving treatment at the Bali General Hospital.

This is coming barely 10 days after similar attacks on Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas left no fewer than 18 people dead.
Though the state Police Public Relations Officer, David Missal, said three persons were killed in the attack, the Chief of Tiv in Bali, Zaki David Gbaa, said 12 people, including a one-week-old baby were killed by the herdsmen.

Gbaa, who is the Chairman, Council of Tiv traditional rulers in the state, condemned the incessant attacks on Tivs in the area, saying the attacks are being carried out deliberately to dispossess his people of their ancestral lands.

He wondered why such attacks are not being carried out in Daka district also in Bali and Mutum Biyu district in Gassol Local Government Area just as he urged Governor Darius Ishaku to hold the local chiefs in the areas accountable for the crisis.

While commending the governor for the steps he has taken so far to restore peace in the area, he appealed to the state House of Assembly to investigate the crisis with a view to bringing a permanent solution to the incessant attacks on his people.

He, however, appealed to the government to urgently provide relief materials for the internally displaced persons (IDPs)  who abandoned their homes for safety and have swelled the IDP camps in Bali.
Narrating the ordeal of the displaced persons to journalists who visited the camp yesterday, the camp leader, Mr. Matthew Baki, said the challenges facing the people includes water, shelter, food and exposure to all forms of diseases.

“Just yesterday, two women delivered here without access to medical facility and one of the children died hours after delivery. And as you can see,  we are all sleeping outside in this open field and it has been raining since we came in here. We are exposed to all forms of diseases. We want the government to end the crisis to enable us return to our homes and farms,” he said.

Fielding questions from journalists, the Lamdo Bakundi, Alhaji Misa Gidado, who is the traditional ruler of Bali, said he has been holding series of meetings with stakeholders in the area to ensure a quick end to the crisis, and appealed to both the Fulani herders and Tiv farmers to embrace peace.

THISDAY gathered that 1,765 people are currently camping at the Tiv Council Hall,  St. Paul’s Catholic Church and NKST Church all in Bali town while the number is expected to increase in the days ahead as more people troop into the camps to take refuge.
Also, five persons were killed and six other injured in suicide attacks on Konduga, a town in Borno State, the police said on Tuesday.

The police in a statement by its spokesman in the state, Victor Isuku, said the incident occurred on Monday night at about 9:30.
He revealed that the attacks were by three female suicide bombers who all lost their lives in the incident, that equally claimed two other lives and had six others injured.

The statement read: “Information received from District Police Officer Konduga, has it that on 15/5/17 at about 21:30 hours, three female suicide bombers detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) strapped on their bodies at Shuwa settlement of Mandarari Ward Konduga , killing themselves and two others.
“While six persons sustained injuries. Normalcy had been restored.”