Photo caption: Open grazing
Residents of the Munga Dosso community in Karim- Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba have appealed to the state government to ensure strict enforcement of its anti-open grazing law to address herders and farmers’ clashes in the state.
The Youth Leader of the community, Robert Bukar, disclosed this on Monday, while briefing newsmen in Jalingo.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Munga Dosso community has come under attack recently when scores were killed, and property worth millions of naira was destroyed by suspected herders.
Bukar noted that the bill was signed into law by the former Gov. Darius Ishaku in 2018.
He said that the enforcement of the law would address the lingering farmers/herders conflict.
He also decried the absence of the government’s representatives in the crisis-affected community.
The youth leader also said that the community was left to its faith at the time, when 12 residents of the community, who were given a mass burial, were killed by suspected herders
“Notably, no government representatives from federal, state, or local levels visited the community after this incident.
“We have a senator, a house of representatives member, a state assembly member, yet none deemed it necessary to visit us and to listen to our lamentations.
“As a peace-loving community, we always report all incidents and seek assistance from security agencies.
However, we were disappointed by the lack of government representation at the mass burial, where officials failed to commiserate with our people.
” It is true that the state government sent relief materials to the victims but relief materials are not our problem. We expected their solidarity at the time.
“The aftermath of such violence has tragically resulted in not only fatalities but also a significant number of injuries and displacements.
“It has led to a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention. Families are left to mourn their loved ones, while survivors grapple with trauma and insecurity.
“Access to essential resources has become increasingly challenging, complicating efforts for community stability.
“Moreover, in all these, our people are often arrested and from the police station to prison but none of the perpetrators are brought to justice.
“It is only in the recent crisis that the herders were arrested with assault rifles by the police in Karim-Lamido but were released the next day,” Bukar said.
The youth leader also appealed to government to increase security deployment to allow farmers to safely return to their farms.
He also requested Taraba government to ensure that the recently constituted administrative committee of inquiry carry out a thorough investigation to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of the recent attacks.
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