Taraba monarch decries occupation of 17 villages by suspected herdsmen

News Agency Of Nigeria

July 24, 2019 2:58 PM

Njanmeng told newsmen in his Palace in Jalingo on Wednesday that the herdsmen were grazing on the farms of displaced people.

Taraba monarch decries occupation of 17 villages by suspected herdsmen [Daily Post]

Chief Augustine Njanmeng, the traditional ruler of Kona people has decried the occupation of 17 villages belonging to his community by suspected herdsmen in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba.

Njanmeng told newsmen in his Palace in Jalingo on Wednesday that the herdsmen were grazing on the farms of displaced people.

He also alleged that herdsmen were carrying sophisticated weapons to shoot anyone at sight.

The monarch therefore called on the government and international community to intervene so as to return the displaced people to their ancestral homes.

He added that his two farms sitting on 12 hectares of land had been destroyed by the herdsmen.

The second class chief alerted government of impending food crisis in the state, if those displaced were not returned to continue with their agricultural activities.

Reporters who visited some of the farms destroyed observed that several farms were grazed upon.

Mr James Ayuba, one of the farmers whose farm had been destroyed, called on government at all levels to end the crisis.

However, Alhaji Sahabi Tukur, the state Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), declined to react to the allegation.

Tukur assured that he would comment as soon as the national secretariat of MACBAN authorised him to do so.

It would be recalled that skirmishes between suspected herdsmen and Kona community claimed several lives and property in Jalingo and Ardo Kola Local Government Areas of the state.

News Agency Of Nigeria