Tiv/Jukun Crisis: Casualty Figure Rises To 10

…As several victims are hospitalized in Wukari

 BY AMEH IDUJAGI, JALINGO – The Chairman of

Wukari Local Government Area in Taraba State, Mr. Daniel Adi has confirmed that no fewer than 10 persons have been killed and several others injured in the clashes between Jukun and Tiv ethnic group on the fringes of Benue and Taraba States.

Adi told journalists during a chat in Wukari on Sunday that about 10 communities have so far been burnt down around Kente ward of the Council area.

While calling for calm, Adi also said that several households including Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Kente have been burnt down by attackers in the early hours of Sunday.

He further said; “I made efforts to contact my counterpart in Ukum Local Government in Benue State to appeal to his people to lay down their arms and embrace peace.”

He said the Local Government is footing the bills of several injured persons currently receiving treatment at the Wukari General Hospital.

Meanwhile, Chief David Kente, a former APC governorship aspirant who hails from the area has condemned the wanton destruction of lives and property as a result of the crisis which he described as most unfortunate.

Kente said the Tivs and Jukuns in the area have coexisted peacefully for many years after their first clashes in 1991 and therefore appealed to the warring parties to sheath their swords and embrace peace.

He promised that all those who lost their property in the current crisis on both sides of the borders of Benue and Taraba would be compensated.

According to him; “You see this achievable because after the 1991 clashes between the two ethnic groups in Kente area, I single handedly provided succour to the all the affected communities by providing roofing sheets, cement and related building materials.

“I also constructed boreholes in the affected communities both on the Benue side and Taraba”. 

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Taraba Police Command, ASP David Misal, confirmed the clashes, adding that after the  death of two persons at the initial stage of the crisis on April 1, 2019, the police is yet to ascertain the actual casualty figure.

Misal however said that the command has deployed additional officers and men to restore peace and order in the area. 

Our Correspondent reports that the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups engaged themselves in a bloody war on April 1 over a minor disagreement arising from sales of yams in a boarder market in the area.