Taraba State in North East region is facing rising farmer–herdsmen tensions.
Fresh violence has erupted on the Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State, leaving scores of people dead, destroying homes, farmlands and livestock, while hundreds of residents, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled across the border to neighbouring Cameroon for safety.
The latest clashes, involving members of the Mambila and Fulani communities, have spread across communities in Mbamga, Sardauna Local Government Area, prompting the council chairman, Hon. Muhammad Umar, to impose a 24-hour curfew on affected areas.
Although the Taraba State Police Command has yet to release an official casualty figure, local sources told NATIONAL ACCORD that no fewer than nine people, including a personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS), have been killed since the violence erupted on Tuesday.
The renewed crisis has also displaced more than 600 Nigerians, who are now taking refuge at the DS Nyang Campus near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. The displaced persons are said to be in urgent need of food, clean water and other basic necessities.
Residents who spoke with our correspondent dismissed claims that the violence was politically motivated, insisting that it stemmed from long-standing tensions between the two communities.
Giving his account of how the latest violence began, a former Chairman of Sardauna Local Government Area, Dr. Oliver Wubon, linked the crisis to an alleged attempted rape of a Mambila woman by a Fulani youth.
“A Mambila woman went to her farm to harvest Cassava, farms over there are located in isolated areas, while coming back, a Fulani young man saw her so attractive, he attempted to rape her along a lonely path, the woman resisted, it resulted to a fight, the Fulani young man was almost being over powered by the woman farmer.
“The Fulani young man was held strongly by woman not to escape, during the struggles, he removed his knife and cut the woman with several injuries, the woman held him and was shouting on top of her voice, the local farmers trooped to the scene, having seen the woman with injuries and blood all over her body, the farmers went after the Fulani young man, got him and handed to the police.
“That was the beginning of the renewed crisis between Fulani and Mambila once again. Am calling on both tribes to lay down their arms. The two tribes were created by God to leave together, crisis can not bring development within our areas.”
No other version of events had emerged as of the time of filing this report.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Taraba State Police Command, Mr. Victor Msherizar, declined to confirm the number of casualties recorded during the violence.
Meanwhile, Sardauna Local Government Chairman, Hon. Muhammad Umar, has imposed a 24-hour curfew across the affected communities to restore order.
In a statement issued through his spokesman, Marvelous Heli, the chairman said the security situation was under control and directed residents to remain indoors.
He said security personnel had been deployed to the affected areas to protect lives and property, warning that anyone found violating the curfew would be arrested.
The Mambila-Fulani conflict is one of the recurring communal crises in Taraba State. The prolonged violence prompted the establishment of the Nigerian Air Force 23 Quick Response Base in Gembu between 2018 and 2019 to strengthen security on the Mambilla Plateau. Despite repeated security interventions, disputes over land, grazing routes and community relations have continued to fuel deadly clashes in the area.
