No fewer than 300 houses have been burnt to ruins on Saturday in a series of clashes between the Jukun and the Tiv in Taraba State.
TheNation reports that Jukun militants attacked a Tiv village – Tor-Damsa, in Donga local government area- in the early hours of Saturday.
According to eyewitnesses, thousands of people have been rendered homeless in the aftermath of the attack.
Terkuma Tsetim, a resident of the affected community, narrated that the attackers numbering 500 wore military uniform.
This is the most recent of the clashes between the two ethnic groups that have claimed hundreds of life, and billions in property.
READ ALSO: We will get Biafra at all cost – IPOB vows
Speaking on the incident,a Tiv activist in the state, Stephen Butu, however, warned against reprisals by the Tiv.
He advised them to shun the temptation of resorting to reprisals over the attack on Tor-Damsa,saying: “The Jukun/Tiv crisis is a source of worry to the governor. His wife is Tiv.
“All the governors of Taraba State, including Darius Ishaku (Taraba governor) , were chosen by God. That is why when Taraba slipped into crisis, God brought Ishaku to steer Taraba.
“When Ishaku came onboard in 2015, Tiv were displaced in Gashaka, Bali and Gassol, and their lands were confiscated. His first project was to suspend traditional rulers who were responsible for the crime.
“The governor made sure all displaced Tiv people returned to their homes. That was when he coined his popular peace slogan: ‘Give me peace and I will give you development.’
“If Ishaku doesn’t love Tiv, he wouldn’t have done that. If he hated Tiv, he wouldn’t have married a Tiv woman and made her First Lady of the State.”
Leave a Reply