15 Persons Killed Within 5 Days in Takum, Ussa, Yangtu – Kutebs Cries Out

The Kuteb ethnic group, spread across Ussa and Takum local government councils and in Yangtu Special Development Area of Taraba State, has denied reports making the rounds that normalcy has been restored to their areas.

 

The ethnic group, under the umbrella of The Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria, (KYN) Abuja Chapter alleged  that efforts put in place by the authorities to frustrate bandits launching attacks on their communities have yielded no positive results.

 

The Kuteb group in a statement signed by its Abuja Chapter spokesperson, Ure Caleb, alleged that not fewer than 13 persons have been killed in the last 5 days in Takum, Ussa and Yangtu Development area, while frowning at the state government's position on the killings ravaging the communities. Read full statement below.

 

 

KUTEB YATSO OF NIGRRIA (KYN) ABUJA CHAPTER.

 

TARABA KILLINGS: NO NORMALCY IN TAKUM AND USSA AS COMMUNITIES BLEED

Our attention has been drawn to the security situation within the five days in Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas of Taraba state is gruesome and escalating on daily basis. Killing of innocent farmers in cold blood is the order of the day. Day in day out the terrorists move closer to Takum and Lissam towns, the headquarters of Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas respectively and Yangtu Special Development Area, capturing and occupying more and more villages where they kill villagers and displace the rest into harsh environmental conditions. Not fewer than 13 persons have been killed in the last 5 days in Takum, Ussa and Yangtu yet only 3 deaths were reported in the news by Nigeria Police as stated by the PPRO of Taraba Command, who, surprisingly, added that "normalcy had return to the area". We strongly condemned this Continues killing of the innocent farmers in strong terms.

 Gentlemen of the Press it is imperative to note that normalcy cannot be said to have returned to the area just because the bandits retreated to their camps after hitting their targets. This is not normalcy. They attack communities in highly sophisticated manner with such a number of fighters estimated to be in hundreds, usually all armed with high-calibre, high-velocity weapons of military capacity. This is what defenseless innocent citizens of Nigeria face every day in communities of Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas. Therefore, the report that normalcy has returned to our land is either an intentional statement to trivialize the magnitude of the problem or a statement made in error arising from underreporting of the happenings in Takum and Ussa.

It is sad to say that with the submission of a comprehensive report to the Executive Governor of Taraba State Dr. Agbu Kefas by the Peace Committee, and the effort the Governor is putting to end the insecurity in the area, the bandits seem to have added new tactics to the mode of their operation. They now go along with herds of cows in front. While they attack the communities, the cows destroy crops in the farms. They even resort to guerrilla warfare where they lurk and kill farmers in their farms.

We want to bring this to the notice of the Government at all levels and security agencies that there are hundreds of well-armed bandits surrounding Kuteb villages in Takum, Ussa and Yangtu special development area, killing on daily basis. More so, there are more concentration of bandits per land mass in Takum and Ussa than in Zamfara, Plateau and Katsina States. Also worth noting is the fact that despite the killing of over 250 Kuteb people and destruction of over 80 villages, the situation has not received the desired attention of Federal government in terms of protecting the people and alleviating the humanitarian crisis faced by thousands of persons affected. The few times State actors commented, they referred to the crisis as herder-farmers crisis. Calling this full-fledged terrorism" herders-farmers crisis" is akin to sugar-coating an ugly situation to shy away from the plight of a defenceless people. Recall that Farming has been crippled in the last two years; students no longer go to school as buildings in over 80 villages have been destroyed; more than 250 people have lost their lives without exaggeration. The situation on ground is better imagined than experienced. It is not herders-farmers crisis. It is a calculated, well-organised crime against the state by a group of only-God-knows who are bent on dislodging and destroying an entire ethnic group. This looks so because the attacks are selective and appear to follow only the settlements of the Kuteb ethnic group of Southern Taraba state, being the second largest ethnic group in the State.

We call on the State government and the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu to harken to the cries of our people and render help by extending, to our area, his good gesture of prompt and decisive military intervention as he did in Mangu area of Plateau State. Our appeal is for total disarmament of the bandits, dislodgement of the bandits from the deserted villages in Takum, Ussa and Yangtu Special Development Area and resettlement of our people back to the villages in order to restore peace, curb the unwanted killings and allow return of agricultural activities in line with Mr. President's Food Security agenda.

Gentlemen of the Press, in conclusion, this is a Save-Our-Souls cry to the conscience of Nigerian government and the government of Taraba State. It is also a call on all security agencies to report the matter to the highest hierarchy to bring lasting peace to our land, resettle those who have been displaced by this crisis and to solve the humanitarian needs that have arisen from the crisis in the last two years.

Long live Taraba state

Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria

 

Signed: Ure Caleb.

PRO KYN Abuja

Chapter for the Chairman.