Four Killed In Fresh Herdsmen Attack in Taraba

Herdsmen Kill Four in Fresh Attack in Taraba

Fresh Attacks In Taraba State Leaves Four Dead.

Gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen on Wednesday, killed four members of a family in Mbiya village, Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The gunmen, according to a statement by the state government, stormed the village in the early hours of Wednesday, killing the head of the family, Sunday Sabo, his wife and two children during the attack.

Confirming the incident to journalists in a telephone interview, the Chairman of the local government area, Shiban Tikari, said only the nine-month-old infant of the family of five survived the attack.

Shiban, who stated that the survival of the nine-month-old baby was mysterious, told journalists that the attackers stormed the village at about 2a.m and slaughtered the four family members in their sleep.

“We heard gunshots around 1a.m. on Takum -Ussa road and while we were making efforts to mobilise police men to the area, we heard sporadic gunshots at Mbiya Central, a community just at the outskirt of Takum town here.

“By the time we got there, a family of five; a man, his wife and two children, were slaughtered like chickens. A baby mysteriously survived the attack.

“The attackers whom we suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, also attacked Basam, a village close to Gen. T.Y. Danjuma’s farm and set the whole village ablaze,” he said.

The chairman, who lamented the killings, wondered how the attackers were able to carry out their dastardly act in the area despite the extension of Exercise Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) in the area.

Expressing displeasure over the mode of operation of the army in the area, Tikari stated that rather than comb the bushes in the villages to flush out the attackers, they are busy brutalising his people in the town, saying the army exercise is not yielding the desired result.

Also confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), David Misal, said the casualty figure is still unclear but promised to make it available as soon as it is available.

In the same vein, senior special assistant to the Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, also said the suspected herdsmen were armed with dangerous weapons, including an AK- 47.

“The family was asleep at the time the attackers stormed the community. Sources said they were more than 20, all of them armed with guns and cutlasses. The herds later headed for Bassa village where they also set houses ablaze,”

This attack is the latest in the wave of attack on innocent people in the state by suspected herdsmen.