One injured, 62 houses razed as herders, farmers clash in Taraba

One person has been injured and sixty-two houses burnt in a clash between herders and farmers in Bali LGA of Taraba state.

According to Channels TV, the violence was triggered by a dispute over access to a pond located between Tor Bali and Atongo villages in the LGA.

Aboki Dauda, chairman of Bali LGA, said the crisis began when a woman fetching water was attacked by herders who brought their cattle to the same pond.

He said the confrontation escalated after the woman raised an alarm and members of her community responded.

“What happened here was terrible, you can see houses burnt, people displaced, but thank God that there was no life lost,” Dauda said.

“Trouble started at the pond where the Tiv people were fetching water, the Fulani herders brought their cattle there, destroyed the area, and a woman who went to fetch water confronted them for spoiling the water by asking their cattle to drink from where they fetch to also drink.

“There and then, they attacked her with their sticks and she fell, cried, and called the husband and neighbours to assist her, and from there the crisis escalated all over the two communities.”

He said the local government has summoned the herders’ leaders and warned them of consequences if such incidents recur.

“The Fulani herders do not listen to their parents, that’s the problem we have with them,” he reportedly said.

Ezekiel Gboo, a farmer from Tor Baki who sustained injuries in the attack, said he narrowly escaped death while working on his farm.

“We were working on our farms and we saw them come from different directions with sticks and machetes and we had to flee for our lives,” the farmer was quoted as saying.

“I called our Tiv leader, who instructed me to run to the police station. While escaping, I couldn’t go further. I stopped, and they pounced on me; they were about 30, hitting me with sticks and cutlasses. That was how they inflicted injuries on me.”

TARABA GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS ATTACK

The Taraba state government has condemned the violence, saying it will not tolerate any act capable of undermining peace in the state.

A delegation led by Saviour Noku, Taraba commissioner for special duties and humanitarian affairs, visited the affected communities to distribute non-food items and appeal for calm.

“Let’s try to live in peace with our neighbours, I know you’re peace-loving people and I want us to learn from what has happened and let us give peace a chance,” Noku said.

“It is always cheaper to stop a crisis from happening than to be reactionary; be proactive.

“What we have come up with is just an interim measure. I know we have more plans to make you comfortable and return to your ancestral homes.”

Veronica Alhassan, the member representing Bali One constituency in the state assembly, also urged the affected communities to embrace peace and forgive one another.

The delegation visited the palace of the chief of Bakundi to seek his support in restoring order and fostering reconciliation within his domain.