Unknown gunmen ransack villages in coordinated attacks, kill 14 in Taraba state

macfranc007 July 06, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Jerrywright Ukwu

- The attack on local communities in Taraba still festers in the north-central state

- Suspected militia have attacked villages in Lau local government area of the state

- 14 people were said to have been killed in the coordinated attacks

Gunmen suspected to be a militia group have killed 14 people in Hausa-Fulani dominated villages in Lau local government area of Taraba state on Wednesday night, July 4.

According to Daily Trust, Santuraki, Abbare and Nnega villages were attacked by the gunmen, while Mayo Lope town was also not spared.

A resident of the town, Alhaji Abubakar Abbare, said the attack was unprovoked, adding that Fulani in Abbare have coexisted peacefully with their hosts for over a century.

He said they have sent distress calls to security agents including the police over the attack but up till now they were facing threats of attack from the militiamen.

Abubakar Abbare also said over 40 Fulani settlements north of Abbare down to villages across Adamawa state were burnt by the militia men and hundreds of cows stolen.

Due to the attacks, the Mayolope-Numan road has been abandoned by motorists, as they now go through Zing-Mayo Belwa.

Contacted, the spokesman of the police in Taraba, ASP David Misal, confirmed the attack but said he could not give casualty figure.

“We received distress calls from the area and the state commissioner of police had directed the deployment of additional men to restore law and order,” ASP Misal said.

“The road from Jalingo to Mayo Lope is secured vehicles are moving but anything after the bridge of Mayo Lope town is Adamawa state and it is the Adamawa police command that can comment on that,” he added.

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Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has said that history will be harsh on the present administration if it failed to stop the mass killing of innocent Nigerians in some parts of the country.

Dogara said this on Tuesday, July 3, while welcoming back his colleagues from the Eid-El-Fitr holiday, adding that the killings of innocent Nigerians should be stopped immediately, while urging the government to live up to its responsibility of protecting its citizens.

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