Taraba Killings Fields and the Crisis of Governance.
The report recorded that the attack, which led to massive looting of shops and market stalls and setting of houses ablaze, occurred on Friday, October 23, the community’s weekly market day.
The incident to place on a day when traders and buyers from surrounding settlements converged to exchange farm produce, food and other goods, just shortly after Juma’at prayers.
Residents said the assailants stormed the community on motorcycles from neighbouring Plateau State, and carried out the four-hour reign of terror unchallenged.
By the time the attackers withdrew, residents were searching nearby bushes and a river for their missing relatives, while burnt houses, damaged shops and abandoned belongings testified to the scale of the destruction. On the day of the deadly attack, the Taraba State Police Command said only 10 bodies were recovered, but the next day, it said the death toll had risen to 58, including 15 people who drowned while fleeing in an overloaded canoe. The police spokesperson, Victor Mshelizah, said search operations led to the recovery of additional bodies from surrounding bushes. By Tuesday, it was gathered that the death toll had further risen to 80.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with THISDAY.