Gunmen kill 34-year-old in Nasarawa 

As tension continues to swirl  in tussle for land between the Tiv ethnic community in Nasarawa State and the suspected Fulani herdsmen, another victim has been killed.

Samuel Shaapera, a farmer was killed by the gunmen who now control extensive swathes of Tiv farmlands. The killing occurred in the Kadarko area of Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Kadarko lies about 20km west of Yelwata, Guma LGA of Benue State, where more than 200 hapless residents were murdered by the armed bandits, a couple of months.

Eyewitnesses in the latest incident in Kadarko reported seeing “Fulanis bandits with sophisticated guns and matches, on the night of 19th of August, attack Alima village A suburbs of kadarko in Keana LGA. The attackers killed Mr. Shapaara, and sacked the  village of over 500 hundred Tiv farmers,” a middle aged man who identified himself simply as Apiir, told P.M. News.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Philip Nong’o, President of the Nasarawa State chapter of Mdzough u Tiv, a social cultural association of the Tiv people, said the suspected killers now control the bushes and kill without fear or let: “In fact Kadarko, Kwara in Keana LGA and Doka district in Doma LGA became safe heavens for bandits and kidnappers. My people are denied access to their village’s by bandits and kidnappers, as they are being kidnapped  and killed incessantly if they tried to force their way to their houses or farms,” he said noting the helplessness that Tiv farmers face in accessing and working on their farms.

Nong’o therefore called on the government to urgently find a way of ending the killings, many of which he says have gone unreported.  He said,”I am calling on the security operative to redouble their efforts in combating the criminal activities in our area, arrest and prosecute the papertrators of this massive existential violence and return my people (Tiv) to their various villages.

“This should be followed up with provision of security to protect their lives  and properties, some of which has already been destroyed. Better yet, government can support the victims to start life afresh”