13 killed in Taraba separate attacks

At least 13 people are said to have been killed and houses burnt in two separate attacks in Ardo Kola and Donga Local Government Areas of Taraba State.

Our correspondent gathered that six people were killed in Janibanibu in Ardo Kola LGA near Jalingo when armed herdsmen invaded the village at about 6pm on Monday while seven were killed in an ambush at the border between Wukari and Donga LGAs.

Rev. Fr. Cyriacus Kamai, the Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist Pastoral Area,  Janibanibu, told our correspondent that seven people were killed in the village by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

“I am in Janibanibu village now,  we have recovered six bodies and we are making efforts to give them mass burial with the support of the soldiers who are with us in the village.

“The situation is still very tense. Many houses have been burnt and there is a threat of possible attack again by the armed Fulani militia who are threatening to attack Kona village,” he said.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state,  DSP David Misal, told journalists that five people were killed in the attack while one person was killed in an attack around the Wukari-Donga border.

But contrary to the claim by the Police image maker that only one person was killed in the Donga incident,  a security personnel who participated in the evacuation and burial of seven persons killed in the ambush in Donga LGA near Rafinkada confided in our correspondent that seven corpses were recovered and buried by the men of the Nigerian police attached to Wukari division.

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The seven Tiv farmers killed in the attack were said to be on their way to check their farms,  weeks after they fled the attack in the area when they were ambushed.

“The Police Public Relations Officer said,  “Five people were killed in the attack on Janibanibu near Jalingo. I am not aware of the killing of seven persons in Donga as being speculated.

“The information I have indicates that there was an attack on a village in Donga and one person was killed,”he said.

Caretaker Chairman of Donga LGA, Hon. Nashuka Ipeyen, in whose domain the attack took place, said he was not aware of such an incident.

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Meanwhile, Kona women on Tuesday staged a massive protest against the continued attacks on their communities and killings of their people by armed herdsmen.

The women took the protest walk from Kona village to Jalingo,  the City Centre.

The women alleged that rather than going after the herdsmen who have been killing and destroying their homes,  security agencies turn to harass and arrest Kona youths who mobilise to defend their homes and urged the security agencies to release their children that have been arrested.