At least 20 persons were feared killed as armed men attacked Ananum, a community in Donga local government area of Taraba State, burning down the whole village last Thursday.
A resident, Zahemen Iormanger, who narrated the unfortunate incident, said the armed men arrived the village at around 8:00 am and started shooting sporadically, killing at least 20 persons before they proceeded to burn down the whole village as the residents scampered for safety.
Iormanger said that as at the time of the discussion, seven bodies had been found while several persons were still missing.
Meanwhile, the President General of Tiv Social Cultural Group in Taraba State, Goodman Dahida, has called on the Federal government to urgently intervene and bring to an end the ongoing crisis as the state government has not shown enough political will to resolve the lingering Tiv/ Jukun crisis in the state.
The crisis has claimed hundreds of lives and led to the destruction of scores of villages, especially in the southern part of Taraba.
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“It is with a sorrowful heart that I address you this afternoon. The event of the last five days as it regards the unfortunate happenings in Donga local government area calls for serious concern. As you may be aware, the Tiv people in Donga local government area came under heavy attack in Mararraba last Thursday where innocent people were murdered at Mararraba Market and the surrounding Tiv villages.
“The Caretaker Chairman of Donga local government council, Nashuka Ipeyen who has maintained a biased position since the outbreak of the crisis, said he saw a helicopter landing at Ananum yesterday, all in a bid to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. As we speak, the attack is still ongoing. The entire Ananum village has been reduced to rubbles and they are currently hunting our people who fled the attack and killing them like bush animals.
“The action of Ipeyen and the unnecessary delay by the Taraba State government in implementing the joint 30-man Jukun/Tiv peace committee harmonized report which was submitted since December 2019, speaks volume.
“It is now obvious that the Taraba State government is not willing to solve the Jukun/Tiv crisis which the government has constantly maintained that it is the internal affairs of the state and the state has the capacity to solve.
We therefore, appeal to the federal government to, as matter of urgency, intervene to bring the lingering crisis to an end,” Dahida said.
In a telephone chat with our correspondent, Ipeyen described the allegations against him as baseless. He said he has always taken the side of peace by calling all the sides involved in the crisis.
“I am surprised that the Tiv people say I maintain a biased mind. When the crisis started in Gidan Adamu, a small town in Donga, I called Accountant Ananum and Hon Kurson, all prominent Tiv sons from Donga and pleaded with them to call their people to order. When it started to escalate, I called the CP (Commissioner of Police) who later sent the DCP operation to calm the crisis.
He maintained that he saw a helicopter in the air in his local government around the Ananum area, adding: “that was why I raised an alarm but I don’t know where it dropped. When the crisis started in Wukari I made sure it didn’t enter Donga and nobody called to appreciate me. I am trying my best to put an end to the crisis”.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP David Misal, said he was yet to get all the facts about the attack but promised to get back to our correspondent before the close of the day.
The crisis which started in Kente on April 1, 2019 in a night club between a Tiv boy and his Jukun friend later extended to Wukari, Takum and Donga local government.
