The Tiv Cultural and Social Association in Taraba State on Monday said no fewer than 32 Tiv people had been killed in separate attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen this year.
In a statement issued in Jalingo and signed by the association’s President, Chief Goodman Dahida, the group said five people were killed in Ijandekyula and two in Gidin Doruwa, all in the Wukari Local Government Area.
“In the Ibi Local Government Area, eight people were killed in Gishiri and Dooshima; one in Ibua and a village head was killed in Kaamen village.
“Between 1st and 2nd February alone, five people were slaughtered in Amande Jembe in the Wukari Local Government Area; four were killed in Ngutswen village near Wurojam in Gassol Local Government Area and six killed in Dan-Anacha and its environs, bringing the total to 32 from January to date,” he said.
Dahida noted that the killing of the 32 people and the Lau deadly attacks, where over 70 people were killed, and the genocide going on in Benue and parts of Nasarawa State called for a prompt action by the Federal Government to forestall a total breakdown of law and order in the country.
Dahida lamented that despite the efforts by Governor Darius Ishaku to restore peace and promote peaceful coexistence, unprovoked attacks and killings still went on in the state with the possibility of escalation if not quickly checked.
He condemned the comments on the killings in the country, especially on the social media, that suggested that the Tiv and the Fulani were at war.
“We are not at war with the Fulani and we are not contemplating war with any group. We are a peace-loving people who are predominantly farmers and our determination for peaceful coexistence is unwavering.
“In the pursuant of peace, we have directed our traditional rulers to help in fishing out criminals among our people and we appeal to the leadership of Miyetti Allah to equally do same to help stop these unprovoked attacks and killings for peace to reign,” he said.
While appreciating Governor Ishaku for his efforts at finding peace in the state which he said was the reason for the enactment of the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law, Dahida called on the herders to take advantage of the ongoing sensitisation to the law and key into it for peace and the development of the state.
He noted that the inability of the Federal Government to deal decisively with Boko Haram, cattle rustling in Zamfara State and the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers called the integrity and sincerity of the Buhari-led administration to question and appealed to the President to treat the killings in the country as a national emergency.
