SOME Fulani men, on Thursday, completely burnt down Kuturu, Malanchi, Gongo, Gumel, Gital villages, all in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The reprisal attack carried out by the Fulani, who allegedly dressed in black, also left five people dead with many others seriously wounded.
This is coming barely two months after the last ethno-religious crisis in the local government area claimed many lives, which made the state governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, to threaten to relocate people living in the town in the event of another crisis.
Confirming the crisis in a telephone interview with newsmen while in Tafawa Balewa to assess the situation, Bauchi State Police Commissioner, Abdulkadir Mohammed Indabawa, said that he could not identify the corpses as they were burnt beyond recognition.
He added that as soon as their identities were known, they would be made public. However, he said that as of the time of this report only three dead bodies had been recovered.
The police commissioner also said that he got the report of the attack in the early hours of Thursday and he immediately sent his men, led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to the town to ensure that peace was restored and also protect life and property of innocent citizens of the area.
A source disclosed to newsmen that some people, numbering about 500, stormed the town at about 4.30 a.m. through the Bununu road, armed with dangerous weapons and set houses ablaze, a development that led to people running for dear lives.
The source added that the prompt response by the few security men stationed in the area averted what could have been another bloodletting as, according to him, the attackers were fully armed and ready to kill anybody that came their way. He commended all security agents in the state for acting promptly to avert the crisis, and called on Governor Yuguda to set machinery in motion in order to settle the problems once and for all, because, according to him, “we have had enough shedding of innocent blood in this area, government should act now as promised by the governor, enough is enough.”
In his account, the Secretary-General of Tafawa Balewa Development Association, Mallam Yunusa Ado, said, “the fresh violence started when unknown people burnt down three villages, – Gital, Jaja and Yamgam – which left hundreds of women and children homeless, since people could not go inside the area. We are now waiting for security agents to open the place so that we can go and assess the situation.”
The Secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar, said, “we didn’t enter Tafawa Balewa town; we are operating in Gontakurwa and Bununu villages, receiving displaced people that are still coming. Later, when we know their number and their needs we will brief you.”
In his reaction to the crisis, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Yuguda on Media Affairs, Sanusi Mohammed, dismissed the allegation that the government was responsible for the attack, saying the attackers came from a neighbouring state, with a mission to cause mayhem and misunderstanding in the area.
On the threat to relocate the area, Mohammed said that, “the government still stands by its statement to relocate the area if the problem persists. If the people do not want peace, they should leave the area and look for violence somewhere else.”
He, however, said that the situation was under control, pointing out that armed security men had already been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
It will be recalled that crisis erupted in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area on January 27, 2011, leaving 38 people dead while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed. 25 suspects arrested are standing trial before a Bauchi Federal High Court.
The last crisis started at a snooker joint, following an argument between two youths, a development that led to the burning of the snooker joint by unknown persons.
Early last month, security operatives averted a reprisal attack in the area and the state government, as well as the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, held stakeholders’ meetings with the people of the area, stressing the need for them to allow peace to reign and live harmoniously with one another, irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences.
At the time of this new crisis, the committee set up by the state government to study and harmonise all the reports of previous crises in the area, headed by General Yakubu Sabo, was still sitting.
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