6th May, 2017
A violent clash between farmers and cattle rearers in Ussa and Takum Council areas of Taraba has left at least 15 people dead while several others sustained various degrees of injuries.
Alhaji Sahabi Mahmoud, the state Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in Taraba and Mr David Misal (ASP), the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state Police Command have confirmed the incident.
However, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while Sahabi said at least 15 of his members have been killed and buried in Takum on Friday, Misal said that the police could only confirm five deaths as at the time of filing this report.
Sahabi, who spoke on Saturday, also expressed fear that more corpses of his members might be in the bush as more than 150 of them were still missing.
He claimed that hundreds of livestock belonging to the herdsmen were wandering in bush as their owners could not be traced.
He called on the security agencies and the state government to come to the aid of hundreds of other cattle breeders, who he said were trapped in the forests of Ussa and Takum to get out alive with their animals.
Meanwhile, the PPRO said in Jalingo on Saturday that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Yakubu Babas has relocated to Takum to ensure that the crisis was brought under control.