About 27 persons were reportedly killed in Nwonko village of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State on Friday in a fresh outbreak of violence in the troubled state.
Many people were also reportedly injured in the attack, which took place on Thursday.
Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Joseph Kwaji, said nine people were killed in the violence.
Sources said that the attacks began at the early hours of the day, leading to massive destructions of farmlands and property worth millions of Naira.
The member, representing Wukari State Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Daniel Gani, said most of the casualties were women and children.
Gana said the attackers stormed the village in their hundreds and started their attack from Tunari village before invading Nwonko.”
“At the beginning, we thought the attackers were Boko Haram from Maiduguri because of their large number. It was later on that we discovered that they were Fulani herdsmen.”
He blamed the lukewarm attitudes of the security operatives, especially the military men in charge of the areas, for the incessant attacks, which according to him “have left a lot of people dead and several others injured.”
Gana accused the military commander in charge of the area of taking sides, alleging that the commander was aware of the attack but was very reluctant in drafting his men to quell the attack.
He added that the refusal of the state government to fulfill its part of the earlier agreement, by paying compensation to the herdsmen over their missing cows, was one of the reasons for the latest attack.
The lawmaker said, “The state government, during the former Acting Governor, Garba Umar, promised to compensate these people (herdsmen) but since he left office, the present government has refused to honour the agreement. So, I believe that is a major reason for the attacks.”
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