Gunmen suspected to be Tiv militia yesterday attacked Rukubi village in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State killing no fewer than 20 persons in a fight with Agatu/ Fulani leaving several others with varying degree of injuries.
The Tiv gunmen were alleged to have invaded the community at about 5.30am and reportedly opened fire on the villagers, most of whom were women and children who were asleep as at the time the hoodlums invaded the community.
Though reasons for the attack were not immediately known, National Mirror gathered that the incident was not unconnected with the alleged harbouring of Fulani herdsmen to sustain their attack on Tiv farmers whose attempts to resettle in their ancestral homes have been resisted by the herdsmen.
Rukubi, the affected community, which is dominated by the Agatu ethnic nationality has in recent times been fingered as harbouring Fulani herdsmen to attack local Tiv farmers even as it was alleged that the herdsmen were hired by some individuals to sack Tiv farmers in the area.
At present, no fewer than 18, 000 farmers, mostly the Eggon and Tiv ethnic nationalities were still taking refuge at different communities across the state and beyond as all efforts by the state government to end the persistent communal clashes has not yielded the desired results.
Reacting to the development, President of Tiv Youth Organisation in the state Hon. Peter Igbacher Kwembe, who condemned the incident, dismissed the insinuations making the round that the attack was carried out by the Tiv people, pointing out that his kinsmen have been forced out of their ancestral homes for two years.
He insisted that the allegation was a calculated attempt to further hurt Tiv people as well as give them a bad name in order to hang them and make them a subject of further attacks in places where they have been taking refuge in the past two years.
All efforts to obtain comments on the matter from the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, on the matter were unsuccessful as he did not pick his calls nor answer the messages sent to him as at the time of filing this report.
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