Onimisi Alao, Yola
The Adamawa State Police Command has confirmed the killing of one person following an attack by suspected herders in Numan.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Sulaiman Nguroje, said the victim, identified as David Titus, was alleged to have been killed by suspected herders in the area.
The PPRO did not give details of how the incident occurred but said police personel from the homicide unit of the command had been deployed to conduct an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“For now, no arrest had been made but the command has to. The command can not allow anything that will frustrate existing peace achieved by the command through community engagement between farmers and herders. Our men are going after the perpetrators, possibly to arrest them and bring them to book,” he said.
It was gathered Tuesday afternoon that David Titus and one other person, both of Bwatiye-speaking ethnic stock of Numan, were separately attacked between Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17.
The attacks led to David’s death and serious injury to the other victim, Kennedy Bitrus.
Kennedy Bitrus was said to have been on his way from a trip to his home base in Bang on Friday when he was hit by weapon-bearing attackers and is currently receiving medical attention at a health facility in Numan, headquarters of the Numan Local Government Area.
A day after the attack on Kennedy, the suspected herders attacked David Titus, identified as the youth leader (Kpalagbe) of Nega Community of Bolki Ward.
He was said to have been on his way from Bang, but the attackers shot him to death.
READ ALSO: Tanker drivers protest police brutality in Adamawa
Efforts to prevent attacks such as these ones have been made by authorities other than the police.
The fresh attacks came at a time when Bachama and Batta Chiefdoms, Fulani Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and Tabithal Pulaaku, all around Numan and neighbouring Demsa LGA, were synergizing to address issues around harmony.
Numan and Demsa, being headquarters of their respective local government areas, constitute the heartland of the Numan Federation, a large community of largely Christian population often troubled by herders/farmers clashes but which has in recent months been celebrating relative peace.
The fresh attacks, a drawback to the peace efforts, came barely one day after a peace meeting was convened by the new Hama Bachama, Homun Daniel Shaga Ismaila and his counterpart Hama Bata Alhamdu Teneke and the Fulani leadership.
Leave a Reply