* Gunmen kill 11 farmers
Wole Ayodele in Jalingo
Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, has described the persistent attacks and killings in several parts of the state by bandits and gunmen as worrisome and unacceptable.
The governor, who stated this while reacting to the killing of 11 farmers by gunmen at Yangtu Development Area on Friday, however, reassured the people of the state that he was doing everything humanly possible to bring such carnage to an end.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communication, Emmanuel Bello, Kefas expressed his heartfelt condolences to the people of Yangtu, just as he called on security agents to redouble their efforts in ridding the troubled area of all forms of terror.
The statement also revealed that the governor has despatched the deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Bello Alkali, and heads of security agencies to Yangtu for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and seek lasting solutions.
The governor further added that his recent visits to all security heads at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja was primarily geared towards attracting the federal government support in the fight against banditry in the state, stressing that security challenges were not restricted to the state as the entire country was reeling under the scourge.
To effectively combat the scourge, Kefas disclosed that the newly elected local government chairmen would be adequately empowered to safe guard lives and properties in their domain while security agents would be provided with modern equipments and technologies in the field to enhance their performance.
Meanwhile, the state Police Command has giving the identities of the victims of the attack, which it said were carried out by suspected Fulani’s as Saleh Kyatiki ‘m’ 62yrs; Ephraim Atenji ‘m’ 45yrs; Mansseh Atenji 42yrs; Hassan Songure, 18yrs; Hope Hassan, 23yrs and Rimamsomtse Lamadi, 32yrs.
Others, according to the Command, were Holiness Enoch, ‘m’ 30yrs; Rimamtsiki Enoch, 26yrs; Egwu Hassan, 22yrs and Rimamdeya Lamadi, 25yrs. They were all said to be of Kuteb extraction.
In a press release by the Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Usman (SP), the Command revealed that their corpses were evacuated to the General Hospital in Takum for autopsy from where they were released to their families for burial.
The statement further disclosed that the Police Commissioner, Joseph Eribo, has deployed a joint team of anti-kidnapping, a team from MOPOL 67 in Takum and Special Task Force in collaboration with the military to the area while investigation is ongoing to trace the culprits for possible arrest and prosecution.
