Suspected herders kill family of five in Taraba 

Efforts by both the federal and Taraba governments to restore peace in the state have continued to be a mirage, as a family of five was yesterday killed by suspected herdsmen in Takum council area.

The incident, which took place in Mbiya village, was said to have been executed by heavily armed herders, who stormed the settlement in their numbers.

The family house of the deceased was said to have been razed by the attackers, whom had since escaped into thin airs.The suspected herdsmen, according to an eyewitness, who claimed to have narrowly escaped the wrath of the attackers, Samson Tinton, “ took the people of the village unaware,” adding that “they came in their numbers and wiped out the entire members of Sunday Sabon’s family.”

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), David Misal, said the command “is aware that there was an attack” but claimed that “we are still waiting for more information about the attack.”

The command, as at the time of filing in this report, said it was not informed of the actual casualty figure. It promised to get back to The Guardian as “soon as all the information were made available to us by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Takum.”

Also confirming the report, the chairman of the council, Shiban Tikare, said the “killings took place today (yesterday) at the outskirt of the council where a family of five was killed.”

He disclosed that said a nine month-old baby mysterious survived the onslaught, adding that Basam, another community which was a few kilometers away from Gen. Theophilus Danjuma’ s farm, was also attacked, stressing that “ the whole village was razed down.”

Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku has expressed sadness at the mayhem, saying it “is the latest in the wave of herdsmen’s killings of innocent people that have claimed many lives in the state.”His position was contained in a statement issued in Jalingo by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan-Abu.He said: “Taraba is among the states covered by Operation Ayem Akpatuma which is aimed at disarming people in order to secure lives and property.” 

The governor regretted that amid the presence of the military, the “heavily armed Fulani herdsmen have continued to have a field day without being arrested.”