50 feared killed in Adamawa, Taraba attacks

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Over 50 People were reported to have been killed in fresh attacks on Monday night in several border communities in Adamawa and Taraba states.
The attacks were reportedly carried out by Fulani militiamen targeting farming communities around Gojefa, Bujum Yashi, Bujum Waya, Sabonlayi and Bujum Kasuwa villages in the Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Other communities affected by the onslaught include Anguwan Bishop Yotti, Todung, Budon, Bunzum and Bamga Dutse located in Taraba State.
The sustained attacks in recent times, according to the Hama Batta, Alhamdu Teneke, the traditional ruler of  Demsa chiefdom, have resulted in most communities in the area abandoning farming. He said this development might lead to famine soon.
Confirming the recent attacks, the member representing Numan in the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Sodomti Tayedi, said more than 50 people were feared killed in the wave of the recent attacks.
She also pointed out that no week passed in her community without an attack carried out by suspected Fulani militia.
Tayedi said, “Our people are farmers but my community is now living in fear since these attacks started in November last year and have persisted up till date.
“We are hopeless and helpless; economic activities here have stopped. This is a farming season and if we cannot go to the farm, then poverty and starvation are what is left.
“We are calling on the government, as a matter of urgency, to come and secure our people and constituency since no one is allowed to take up arms, then it is the responsibility of the government to protect people.”
One of the survivors, Galilee Ishaku, a resident of Sabon Layi, said, “Those who attacked us were Fulani and they came when we were in the market because it was market day.
“They suddenly entered our village and started shooting. We ran and cross over the river but they followed us and kept on shooting.
“Right now as I am talking, they are in our village, grazing on our farms.
“The people that I know were killed were more than 30 people but many of our villagers are still unaccounted for.”
Another resident, Dong Jonah, said the attacks usually followed rumours of an impending attack, adding that despite the early warnings to security agencies, measures were hardly taken to forestall the attacks.
However, the Adamawa State Government, on Tuesday through the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajoh, condemned the attacks on Numan and Demsa communities.
He also expressed the government’s concern about the displacement caused by the attacks while assuring the residents that the state government was working to restore peace to the troubled area.
The Monday night attack was the fourth in two weeks with the residents claiming that over 100 people might have been killed. 21 persons were killed in attacks on Demsa and Numan villages.