By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has on Thursday summoned Governor Darius Isiaku over alleged genocide in Taraba State.
His summon followed a call by the Fulani communities in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State on the Acting President to intervene in what they described as genocide being perpetrated against them.
Sundiata Post recalls that there was an outbreak of communal unrest between graziers and farmers on 17 June 2017, said to have started in Nguroje Village Area and spread to other parts of the Mambila Plateau, resulting in the loss of lives and properties.
Fulani community has alleged that a local militia in the area has been killing Fulanis and destroying their property on the orders of the chairman of the local government, John Yep.
But in a swift reaction, the Sardauna Local Government Stakeholders had described the petition by the Fulani community as flood of misinformation claiming that only the Fulanis were either killed or maimed in the crisis.
They insisted that many people around Lijire, Damu and Mayo Sina villages are yet to be accounted for, alleging that Lijire and Damu, two Mambilla villages were completely wiped out by the Fulani militia and these villages contain hundreds of inhabitants.
They also refuted claims that only Fulani properties were destroyed. They insisted that the facts on the ground show that the Mambilla and Kaka people also lost their properties in the crisis.
They also described as misleading the claimed that over 300 Fulani communities were razed to the ground. “This is a great deceit because the entire Mambilla Plateau has only about 43 Village Areas, about 40 of which are Mambilla and Kaka village areas. Where did the Fulanis get their over 300 communities?”
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Isiaku assured that relative peace has returned to the crisis area of Mambila.
“We are trying to consolidate on the peace. We are trying to reconcile people, we have sent so many emissaries up there for peace initiatives and so far so good, the place has calmed down, there is security everywhere, they are doing their best and we are happy with them.
“We are trying as much as possible to put the past behind us while we look into the details later on when the place is fully calm,” Isiaku said.
On why the crisis erupted in the area, the Governor who said the crisis should not have happened in the first instance said that “of course the crisis erupted; it shouldn’t have erupted to that level.
“One of the local Chiefs was taken to a particular location but rumor went round that the opposite camp kidnapped him to be murdered so they now went on rampage.
“That is simply the truth of the matter and we had to make sure that he was back the following day but then, the damage had been done.
“In this modern age, with various means of communication like telephone, facebook and many more, the message went viral so we were left with the option of fire fighting and largely we succeeded but of course we had to bear the pains of the losses incurred, which comprised lives, buildings and cows,” he added.
Speaking on mechanisms being put in place to forestall further occurrence Isiaku said “we are working hard on that and I can assure you by the grace of God, with the intervention that the security has done now, we may not see that kind of a thing again. It has been very good.”