- * Appeals For Government, Security Interventions
By David Odama (In Lafia, Nasarawa State)
Barely 48 hours after gunmen suspected to be herders attacked community in Keana Local government Area of Nasarawa state, residents of the area have applied to the Nasarawa state government and the security agencies for urgent intervention to save them from wanton destruction of homes and farm crops being used as grazing fields.
It would be recalled that scores of people were reportedly killed and several others injured in Gidan Sule, a Tiv settlement area in Kadarko, Keana Local government of the state when the community came under alleged attacked by suspected herders last Saturday.
Speaking in an interview with Journalists on the current situation in the affected community, one of the locals, Mr. Iorzua Tyodugh, who escaped the Saturday attack, lamented that his cassava and guinea corn farms measuring over five hectares, among others, have been turned into a grazing field, leaving the crops destroyed.
"The herders now graze freely on our farm crops both day and night since the attack. They have mobilized their herds within and outside Keana Local Government. Our hope of going back to harvest our crops which is our only means of survival had been dashed.
Iorzua Tyodugh stated that even if they return home, they will have nothing to feed their families and take care of other needs, adding that the herders have allegedly turned the deserted villages and farm crops belonging to the farmers into grazing fields.
Some of the IDPs who spoke with newsmen in Kadarko and Giza camps decried the lack of food and shelter. They appealed to the government and spirited individuals to come to their aid.
"Though our leader, the TIDA President, Comrade Peter Ahemba, visited us yesterday (Sunday) to sympathize with us and assured us of the government's prompt intervention. No government official has come to see us yet"
Reacting to the development, President, Tiv Development Association (TIDA) in Nasarawa state, Comrade Peter Ahemba, described the situation as unfortunate and regretted the killing of about ten of his kinsmen and the current destruction of farm crops that would have been used by the survivors to feed on.
"The herdsmen have already killed scores of my people with the use of AK-47s. Many others may face hunger with the way the herders are having a field day committing these atrocities"
Comrade Ahemba who commended the efforts of the state government and security agencies so far to arrest the ugly situation, however, called for more decisive measures to restore peace in the affected areas to enable the displaced persons to return to their homes. NNL.
