Senator David Jimkuta, representing Taraba South at the National Assembly and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Warfare and Poverty Alleviation, stated that a security report has confirmed the killing of over 700 of his constituents from Ussa and Takum Local Government Areas in Taraba State within three months.
He further said that banditry activities have destroyed over 50 villages in the LGAs.
Senator Jimkuta made these remarks while addressing journalists in Wukari, his hometown and headquarters of Wukari Local Government Area on Tuesday.
He expressed concern about the bandits ravaging Ussa and Takum, particularly affecting Ussa, where all farmers have fled for safety. This development, he warned, could soon lead to food scarcity in the state.
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Jimkuta urged security agencies operating in the state to intensify their efforts and prevent Nigeria from sliding into food insecurity by eradicating bandits from their hideouts and allowing farmers to resume their usual activities.
“Why not collaborate with locals for accurate information and take the fight directly to the bandits’ hideouts? We know where they are; let’s flush them out. These areas are major food producers, and with people displaced and unable to access their villages, we are facing a looming food crisis,” Jimkuta asserted.
The Senator also called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on security in the Takum-Ussa areas to enable farmers to return to their farmlands.
