One person has been injured, and sixty-two houses destroyed after suspected herders attacked farming communities in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
it was learnt that the attack followed a dispute about a source of water.
The source of water, a pond, is located between Tor Bali and Atongo villages and is the bone of contention between the Tiv farming communities and Fulani herders.
According to the chairman of Bali Local Government Area, Aboki Dauda, peace was breached when a woman went to the pond to fetch water and was confronted by a cow that competed with her for water.
She was thereafter allegedly beaten by the herders.
The woman later raised an alarm over the incident, which prompted reactions from members of her community.
“What happened here was terrible, you can see houses burnt, people displaced, but thank God that there was no life lost.
“Trouble started at the pond where the Tiv people were fetching water, the Fulani herders brought their cattle there, destroyed the area, and a woman who went to fetch water confronted them for spoiling the water by asking their cattle to drink from where they fetch to also drink,” he said.
“There and then, they attacked her with their sticks and she fell, cried, and called the husband and neighbours to assist her, and from there the crisis escalated all over the two communities.
”I took a bold step and summoned the leaders of the herders at the local government secretariat. We have identified them and warned that if such is repeated, they will be held responsible. The Fulani herders do not listen to their parents, that’s the problem we have with them,” he added.
A farmer, Ezekiel Gboo, in Tor Baki village, who narrowly escaped death, revealed that: ”On that day, we were working on our farms and we saw them come from different directions with sticks and machetes and we had to flee for our lives.
”While running, I pulled out my phone and called our Tiv leader, who instructed me to run to the police station immediately. While escaping, I couldn’t go further. I stopped, and they pounced on me; they were about 30, hitting me with sticks and cutlasses, and that was how they inflicted injuries on me.”
Meanwhile, the Taraba State Government says it will not tolerate any breach of peace in the form of communal clashes or any farmers vs herders conflicts to scuttle its peace efforts.
The Taraba State Government said this when its delegation visited the affected area to provide succour in the form of nonfood items and solicited for peaceful coexistence among feuding groups.
Zaki Gbaa, the leader of the Tiv communities, received the delegation led by Saviour Noku, who is also the Taraba State Commissioner for Special Duties and Humanitarian Affairs.
”Let’s try to live in peace with our neighbours, I know you’re peace-loving people and I want us to learn from what has happened and let us give peace a chance.
“It is always cheaper to stop a crisis from happening than to be reactionary; be proactive.
“What we have come up with is just an interim measure. I know we have more plans to make you comfortable and return to your ancestral homes,” the commissioner said.
The member representing Bali One Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Veronica Alhassan, who was part of the delegation, asked that they embrace peace and eschew all forms of bitterness.
The delegation also visited the chief of Bakundi Palace, where they solicited the assistance of the traditional ruler to ensure peace in his domain.
Meanwhile, the delegation presented relief materials to victims of last week’s windstorm, which claimed six lives and destroyed over 200 houses in Garba Chede community of the Bali council area.