According to Daily Post, after sacking Benue State communities, dare-devil herders continued their reign of terror when they attacked Bali and Gassol councils in Taraba State, shooting dead scores of residents during a midnight raid.
As of the time of filing this report, no fewer than 12 dead bodies were said to have been recovered from the scenes of the two separate attacks.
The separate attacks, which occurred in Sabon-Gida village of Gassol Council and Pangari village of Bali, were said to have been perpetrated by the herders.
A source told Daily Post that the herders stormed the communities at night when the residents were deep asleep.
Some persons who claimed to have narrowly escaped the scenes also told our correspondent that apart from the killings and injuries inflicted on residents of the communities, massive destruction of valuables also took place.
The leader of one of the affected communities said, “As I am talking with you now, we have so far recovered twelve dead bodies in a nearby bush in Sabon-Gida village of Gassol council.”
While two persons were as well confirmed to have been killed by the suspected herdsmen in the Pangari community of Bali council, several other persons were as well said to have been injured in the said Bali council.
Confirming the incident, which he said had also led to massive displacements of the people, the Tiv Cultural and Social Association chairman, Bali chapter, Matthew Baki, told our correspondent that two persons were killed in Bali “with several others badly injured.”
He said the attack in the Bali community, which led to the killing of two persons, occurred at about 2 a.m., adding that the “police came in this morning to evacuate the corpse and took those injured to Bali General hospital.”
Also confirming the separate attacks, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), David Misal, said efforts to track down the perpetrators were in top gear.
The leadership of the state chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) accused Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of alleged refusal to wade into the ongoing killings.