Taraba govt faults Miyetti Allah over allegations of killings

Taraba state government on Tuesday faulted Miyetti Allah in the state for over false allegations that 50 of its members were killed in recent attacks in the state, describing the statement as incisive and capable of stirring fresh crisis in the state.

In a press statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Silvanus Giwa, Taraba government said the claim by the state chairman of Miyetti Sahabi Mahmud was a mockery of the victims of the recent attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen in the state.

It could be recalled that suspected Fulani herdsmen who allegedly carried sophisticated weapons have since 2013 unleashed terror on harmless and innocent farmers in central and southern parts of the state, killing thousands with hundreds of thousand others  displaced.

Just weeks ago, suspected Fulani herdsmen killed at least 44 people in Dori, Maisuma, Angai and Fali villages in Gashaka and parts of Bali local government areas of the state.

Giwa in a statement said the allegations by Miyetti Allah that 50 of its members were killed was a ploy by the association to shield its members who are strongly believed to have carried out the attacks.

He explained that the chairman of the association who addressed a press briefing of a selected journalists in Jalingo on the incident failed to present evidence (photographs) of his members that were purportedly killed in the crisis.

“The police and state government on the other hand presented gory photographs of the victims to buttress every point on the issue.

“It is disheartening for the Chairman of miyetti Allah who is a civilian to assumed the position of a security chief by suggesting which measure to be adopted by the Commissioner of Police in Taraba state on how people believed to be culpable in crisis should be treated simply because his member, one Ardo Ayuba was arrested in connection with the crisis.

“Intelligence report has it that the crisis started in the area when some suspected herdsmen killed a woman believed to be Ndoro by tribe when she resisted to be raped by them on her farm, contrary to what Miyetti Allah said”, he said.

The SSA Media said the Police in Taraba state have not taken side in their findings on the attacks on some communities in Gashaka local Government and warned Miyetti Allah to stop woofing sentiments on the killings going on in the state.

The statement added that Governor Ishaku has continually emphasised the need for harmony and peaceful co-existance among the various communities in the state since he assumed office and is doing everything possible to ensure peaceful coexistence, despite distractions including influx of people into the state to take over farmlands of IDPs.