Fulani herdsmen burn down village

From Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe

Unknown Fulani herdsmen have razed down an entire village of over 200 inhabitants in Billiri local government area of Gombe State killing one person and injuring four others.

The marauders also destroyed all food crops in the village as well as those in the farm with their cattle.

However, the paramount ruler in Billiri and Mai Tangle Dr. Abdu Buba Maisheru II described the incident as the activities of thieves while calling for calm among his people.

As at the time our reporter visited the scene of the incident, the village, Polido, was merely a ghost of itself as all the inhabitants have been evacuated to Billiri town and other surrounding villages.

The member of the State House of Assembly representing the area, Honourable Rambi Ibrahim Ayala who immediately mobilised resources to alleviate the plight of the affected villagers, including women and children, followed the people with undisclosed cash donations as well as food items to their various temporary abode.

He described the destruction as heartbreaking and unimaginable which has rendered the inhabitants into a terribly bad situation even as he commended the reporters for coming to the village while there was mounting tension in the area because of the news that the attackers were not very far from the area trying to regroup.

One of the badly injured persons during the raid, Dahiru Ajiya told reporters on his sick bed in Billiri General Hospital that the marauders came to the village around 2:00 pm with cattle numbering over 10,000 and started their operation. He said they attacked his uncle, Ayuba Saleh, in his farm and killed him and destroyed all the crops in his farm.

He added that four villagers who tried to prevent the herdsmen from continuing with their carnage on their farms were wounded with bows and arrows and now receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe.

The village head of the Area, Ajiya Magaji Buba and head of the Polido community, Jauro Yakubu Abba all lamented the absence of a detachment of the Mobile Police Force whom they said had helped in securing them from the attackers in the past.

They explained that the absence of the police had triggered the latest attack.

For now, there is uneasy calm in the area with tension still mounting as many youths were seen with bows, arrows, dane guns and other traditional war arms.