Gunmen Kill 11 In Taraba Communities

Suspected gunmen have killed eleven persons in border communities within Wukari local government area, bordering Taraba and Benue states where houses and properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed.

The communities includes Apiirgwa and Deke located in Kente Ward from the southern part of Wukari local government area of Taraba State.

A community leader of Adeke, Tsavyaa Adeke, told our correspondent that the attackers invaded Apiirgwa en mass in the early hours of Saturday around 5:00am when the victims were still asleep and started shooting sporadically.

“The villagers on hearing the gunshots scampered for their safety but eight (8) persons were killed at the spot, others escaped with gunshots injuries,” Adeke said.

The chairman Wukari local government area branch of the Tiv Cultural and Social Association, Mr Aondowase Tarorshi also explained that eight persons were actually killed at Apiirgwa village, two at Tse-Deke, a remote village located about 3 kilometers away from Wukari town along Wukari Kente Road where Internally Displaced Persons IDPs, have just resettled, while one other person was killed at Tarorshi, along Wukari Rafinka Road.

Tarorshi disclosed that the lifeless bodies of the eight persons killed at Apiirgwa and the two at Deke were recovered and have been buried while the corpse of the young man killed along Rafinka Road was yet to be recovered.

He identified the victims as Daniel Apirgwa, Saater Apirgwa, Terna Apirgwa, Nguyiman Apirgwa, Tertindi Apirgwa, Kparegh Emmanuel Apirgwa, and Mama Modi Apirgwa.

The rest are Myom Chiahemba Tarorshi, Tyolumun Deke and Ternenge Deke aka Usman respectively.

He said the attack on Apiirgwa was reported to the troops in the area who went to the scene of the incident and asked the bereaved to bury the victims.

“Though Apiirgwa is a border village of Benue State, majority of the people living here now are the IDPs from Taraba State, and I want to tell you that the attack has agravated the the people’s challenges. Thousands of youths here are rendered restive and children have been out of school all this while.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Governor of Taraba State, Dr Agbu Kefas and his team to make a pronouncement concerning this crisis. The governor should also set up earnest modalities and resettle the thousands of IDPs who fled the area following the Jukun and Tiv crisis.

“I am very sure that when the IDPs are resettled in their homes, it will control the rate of these reckless attacks that are consuming the lives of our young men over here,” he said.

Although the chairman of the local government, Hon Dauda Samaila could not answer calls put across to him through phone, the State’s Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Gambo Kwache, confirmed the attacks.

Kwache however said only two persons were killed by the unknown assailants.