May 12, 2023 was indeed a black Friday for the inhabitants of Takalafia and Gwanja communities in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, particularly the immediate family of Mrs Janet Aliko.
By the time the dust raised by the invasion settled, no fewer than 41 lives were dispatched into early graves. Among them were Janet’s husband, Aliko, and their only two children.
It was learnt that as the gunmen stormed the area, shooting sporadically and setting houses ablaze, the late Aliko had prayed to God to accept his soul even before opening the door to the house where he was shot dead.
Their innocent kids were also not spared by the invaders while their mother escaped death only because she travelled to Port Harcourt to sell yam and returned a few minutes after the incident to find her husband and two kids in pools of blood.
The attack, It was gathered, had resulted from a disagreement between the farmers and herders in the area over the latter’s alleged encroachment into the farmlands of the former.
The ensuing face-off, our correspondent gathered, resulted in a clash that claimed the life of a herdsman, following which his fellow herdsmen regrouped to launch a massive attack on the two communities.
Janet, who has yet to come to terms with becoming a widow when she spoke with our correspondent, said she could not believe that all the hope that she and her husband had nursed about success in life had been dashed by his sudden death.
Narrating the circumstances that surrounded the death of her husband and two children, Janet said: “I was actually not around. I would have been dead too if I was, but my husband sent me to go sell yams in Port Harcourt
“We were in touch up until yesterday night. So, I could not believe that the incident was real untill I saw the lifeless bodies of my husband and kids lying in pools of blood.
“I didn’t know I that would never see them again. My life is ruined and there is no hope for me again
“The herdsmen have finished me. Killing my husband and two kids is too much to bear.”
Janet, who claimed that her husband sacrificed his life for the community, added that life has not been the same since he died together with their kids.
She said: “We could not achieve our dreams together. Death snatched him from me unannounced.
“I wept bitterly because of the enormous things we still wanted to do together. I am depressed because of the incident.
“The killer herdsmen have deprived me of peace of mind. The killing of my husband and only two kids was a devastating blow. I have been waking up in the middle of the night to weep bitterly since my husband and kids died.”
The communities that are currently under siege have cried out for help after a mass burial was was organised for the dead. The victims were mostly of Gwandara, Mada and Yeskwa tribes.
The 41 people given mass burial were mostly women and children killed by the suspected herdsmen in Takalafia and Gwanja.
The Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, who led a government delegation to witness the mass burial, condemned what he described as senseless killings and wanton destruction of property estimated at millions of naira.
The deputy governor, who expressed shock at the level of destruction and killings, said government was alarmed with the situation at the time it was doing everything to ensure that peace reigns in the state.
Akabe said: “Government will not continue to fold its arms and watch the lives of innocent people cut short.
“Government will not leave any stone unturned to get to the causes of the attacks and bring the perpetrators to book where the law will be allowed to take it cause.”
Akabe assured that the state government would provide relief materials to the displaced victims as he also encouraged the communities to give credible information to the relevant authorities to fish out the brains behind the crisis.
It will be recalled that the Pastor in-Charge of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Daniel Danbeki and others were gruesomely murdered by the suspected killers during the attack.
The council Chairman, Karu Local Government Area, James Thomas, who visited the affected communities prior to the mass burial, also condemned the attack
Represented by his deputy, Lawal Yakubu Karshi, he appealed for calm and also vowed to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.
A member of the community, Audi Fura, said “government should assist us. The herdsmen should let us have peace of mind on our land.
“We don’t want them again on our land. They are threats to peace and security of lives and property.”
He informed our correspondent that the attack was the result of a disagreement between the farmers and herdsmen who grazed on the farmlands of the locals, destroying crops (groundnut and maize) belonging to the farmers in the area.
According to him, “disagreement ensued when the farmers approached the suspected herdsmen to take their animal
He claimed that the farmer overpowered the Fulani, snatched his cutlass and fought back, leading to the death of the herdsman instantly.
It was further gathered that the incident occured in Gwanja community near Takalafiya two weeks ago, and the authority of Karu Local Government Area intervened and the matter was settled amicably, only for the suspected herders to regroup and attack Gwanja community.
A youth leader in the area, Timothy Veil, claimed that the herdsmen, on discovering that some residents of Gwanja community had fled to Takalafiya, allegedly launched another attack on the community and killed more people on Friday, 12th May, 2023.
“In the early hours of Friday, around 4am, the people of the community were thrown into panic when they discovered a strange dog roaming the streets of Takalafiya with huge charms round its neck. The community mobilised and killed the dog.
“After they succeeded in killing the dog and they clustered around the dog wondering where it came from, the herdsmen started shooting sporadically around the community, leading to the killing of many people,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the state police command has confirmed the incident, saying that “at about 2200hrs, information was received that one Jibo Alhaji Ali, 18yrs and Fulani by tribe was attacked by unidentified persons while on his way to Kwaja village, Gitata”.
The police command, in a statement by its public Relations Officer DSP Ramham Nansel, explained that upon receipt of the information, police operatives attached to Gitata Division raced to the scene and rushed the victim with machete cut on his head to Na-Allah private hospital, Gitata where he died while receiving treatment.
“Sequel to the above, information was received that Tarkalafia and Kwaja village were attacked.
Reacting to the above, the Commissioner of Police, CP Maiyaki Baba, deployed police operatives comprising of mobile police personnel, counter-terrorism unit and the military to the area where the corpses were recovered and taken to the hospital and subsequently buried.
“The Commissioner of Police hereby condoles with all those who lost their loved ones and has ordered discreet investigation to unravel the faces behind the attack, assuring that anyone found culpable will be dealt with according to the law.”
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