It was a grieving Saturday for the residents of Munga Lalau and Munga Doso communities in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State as tears flowed freely at the burial of scores of persons murdered by suspected herdsmen.
The two communities were thrown into mourning following the aftermath of the killings and devastation inflicted on the communities by about 50 armed herdsmen that invaded the villages on motorcycles around 2am on Friday and started massive attacks as they fired indiscriminately at sleeping residents.
A security source that participated in the rescue operation, said on condition of anonymity that as at the last count, about 42 bodies were killed with many others missing.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Munga Youth Forum, Mr Suleiman Joel affirmed that many people were killed, adding that they were still recovering dead bodies, stressing that the casualty figure is high.
According to Suleiman; “These are not isolated killings. It is a calculated extermination. People who returned to their homes based on security assurances have now been killed. What do we tell their families?”
The residents said the attackers who were armed with AK-47 rifles and machetes, moved from house to house, burning homes and killing anyone in sight.
A survivor, Soja Emmanuel said; “We didn’t know where to run to. They came around 2am, shooting sporadically. People jumped out of their homes into the bush. Some didn’t make it”.
At the mass burial conducted in Munga Lalau and conducted by soldiers and other security personnel on Saturday, families of some of the victims who were filled with sorrow, recounted the way their loved ones were brutally killed.
Mr Augustine Munga, a community leader, who lost two of his brothers in the attack, called for swift intervention by the government to end the bloodshed and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Similarly, another resident, who lost four relatives in the attack, said that the attackers were hired by herders to unleash mayhem on the communities.
According to him; “We all slept in the bush yesterday. The sound of gunshots that rent the air was beyond conventional herdsmen. We fled to the mountains and returned home this morning to see our houses razed,” he sobbed, struggling to utter words during a phone interview.
Also speaking on the sad incident, Mrs Sarah Bitrus, who lost her husband and two other family members, could barely speak, but merely said; “my world has ended”.
A visibly disturbed Governor Agbu Kefas, while condemning the attacks, described it as “carnage, horrendous and unacceptable,” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to book.
Governor Kefas, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communications, Emmanuel Bello, noted that scores of residents were killed and reiterated his commitment to secure the state from external attacks and other forms of aggression.
Kefas therefore emphasised the need for greater collaboration between the people and security forces, especially in the areas of vigilance and sensitive information sharing.
On its part, the Police command in Taraba state said the attacks were carried out by suspected herdsmen.
Spokesperson of the Police in the State, James Lashen, said; “Actually, there was an attack on Munga community by suspected herdsmen. Our men responded promptly, and during the engagement, the attackers fled, abandoning a motorcycle. We recovered four bodies at the scene. There were no casualties among our men.”
The killing Spree
Some parts of Northern Nigeria has witnessed a troubling surge in violent attacks and killings driven largely by a mix of banditry, ethno-religious tensions, and farmer-herder conflicts which has witnessed the killings of about 383 persons across Benue, Borno, Plateau, Niger, Taraba, Kaduna and Zamfara States within a month.
One of the deadliest of the attacks took place in Benue State in which at least 56 people were killed by suspected herdsmen in what appeared a coordinated assaults on Ukum and Logo areas of the state between April 17 and 18.
Also, in April, 40 people were killed after armed men stormed Zike community in the Kwall district of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Similarly, 57 people were killed in Borno State last Thursday by militants linked to Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad faction.
Reports stated that witnesses said the recovered corpses bore slit throats and bullet wounds, raising further concerns about the spate of killings in the region.
