Taraba communities task FG on alleged invaders from Plateau
THE Federal Government has been urged to urgently deploy troops in Fumang, Mala-sambo and Kangshaar villages of Amar District, Karim-lamido Local Council of Taraba State to halt the killings allegedly being perpetrated by militias from the neighbouring Tarok community in Plateau State.
The leadership of the affected communities, in a statement yesterday in Jalingo, said they were displeased by the way and manner “various hamlets or communities in Amar District are often raided by the Tarok marauders from the neighboring Plateau State.”
Signed by the village head of Fumang, Naanmi Daniang as well as ward heads of Unguwan Paul, William Detong; Labari, Labari Dabit; Kangashaar, Boyi Longbwala; among others, the statement regretted that the peace, economy and social wellbeing of the people had been shattered.
It reads in part: “The happiness of the people was shattered when a band of gun- men, who we reasonably identified to be Tarok marauders from Wase local government area of Plateau State, invaded Fumang village.”
During the invasion, they said, “a large number of the inhabitants were either killed or maimed,” adding: “Their property were either destroyed or looted. Those who survived, as made known by the monarchs, were displaced, thereby becoming refuges in their local environs.”
They went on: “It is sad that other neighbouring communities or hamlets such as Kangshaar and Damshaya were not spared by the Tarok marauders who forcefully entered hamlets and communities to loot farm produce and in some instances, women and children were abducted, raped and turned into slaves.”
Stressing that the people were currently living in a state of insecurity, they noted that the negative impact of “these attacks on the people” can only be imagined, especially now that the “farming season is fast approaching.”
The statement further reads: “We say no to the regime of insecurity. Farming activities have become impossible as the people cannot enter their village because it has been completely taken over by the Tarok marauders.”
The leaders therefore suggested that drastic measures should be put in place to halt the attackers from further invading the settlements, as “the criminal activities of these Tarok marauders may alter the territorial boundary between Taraba and Plateau states.”
They pleaded with the relevant authorities at both the state and the federal levels to “immediately deploy security personnel to dislodge the army of Tarok marauders from the aforementioned villages to enable them return and rebuild their homes.”
The community leaders also advocated for the establishment of “permanent security formation in the three affected villages to provide security for the inhabitants and prevent future attacks.”