A group known as Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN) expressed concern on Friday over what they described as the federal government’s negligence in addressing ongoing killings in the Takum, Ussa, and Yantu Special Development Area of Taraba state.
Mr Ure Caleb, the association’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), issued a press release lamenting that the Kuteb ethnic group in Taraba has been enduring continuous attacks and killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen since 2021, without any significant intervention from the federal government.
The group called on President Bola Tinubu to swiftly and decisively implement a military intervention, similar to the actions demonstrated in the Mangu area of Plateau State.
They urged for the total disarmament of the bandits, their eviction from the deserted villages in Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu Special Development Area, and the resettlement of the affected people to their ancestral homes.
The group also criticized the government’s characterization of the insecurity situation in the area as a farmers/herders crisis.
They contended that the killings were a well-calculated strategy specifically targeted at the Kuteb ethnic group in the state.
“We are disheartened by the federal government’s neglect of the persistent and ongoing killings in the Takum, Ussa, and Yantu Special Development Area of Taraba state.
Since 2021, when this tragic trend began, the federal government has failed to intervene in the situation that has claimed the lives of over 3,000 innocent Kutebs and led to the destruction of over 1,000 homes.
“We appeal to President Bola Tinubu to take resolute military action, as exemplified in the Mangu area of Plateau State, in order to disarm the bandits, expel them from the deserted villages in Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu Special Development Area, and facilitate the return of the affected people to their ancestral homes.
“We wish to make it clear to all Nigerians and the government that the ongoing killings in the Takum, Ussa, and Yantu Special Development Area of Taraba state are not simply a farmers/herders crisis.
Instead, they represent a deliberate and targeted effort to eliminate the Kuteb ethnic group.
“We regret to point out that despite the submission of a comprehensive report to the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Dr Agbu Kefas, by the Peace Committee, and the governor’s efforts to address the insecurity in the area, the bandits have resorted to new tactics in their operations.
They now move alongside herds of cows, which destroy crops in farms as they attack communities. They have even begun guerrilla warfare tactics, attacking and killing farmers in their fields.
“We want to bring to the attention of government authorities and security agencies that hundreds of well-armed bandits are encircling Kuteb villages in the Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu Special Development Area, causing daily fatalities.
In just the past five days, 13 innocent Kuteb farmers were attacked and killed by bandit herdsmen. These bandits continue to occupy more land without encountering any security challenges.
“We wish to unequivocally state that there is no peace in the Takum, Ussa, and Yantu Special Development Area of Taraba, particularly within the Kuteb-speaking regions.” The group lamented.
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