Residents of Kona community in Jalingo and Ardo-Kola local government areas of Taraba State have cried out over the invasion of their communities by Fulani herdsmen.
Some of the villagers, who spoke to newsmen, lamented that the purported deployment of soldiers have failed to stop the occupation and killings by Fulani herdsmen.
They alleged that most of the communities in the hinterland were without security personnel and they had been taken over by herdsmen.
“I want to suggest that the government should bring the stakeholders of both herdsmen and our community leaders to a roundtable so that they can have a dialogue on how to end the killings,” a resident said.
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“We want to go back to our homes but the herders are grazing on our farms in the remote areas so we are afraid to go back.
“Soldiers have been deployed in Janibanibu which is on the outskirts of Jalingo, but the rest of the villages are still no go areas. My maize and melon farms on over 10 hectares of land have been destroyed by cattle and so it is with other people. I want to call on the government at all levels to end the crisis,” Kwambo said.
Also speaking, The Chief of Kona, Kuru Augustine Njanmeng, alleged that herdsmen had taken over 17 Kona villages they sacked in May and June.
Njanmeng said herdsmen were comfortably grazing on the farms of the displaced people and killing anyone who attempted to enter the sacked villages.
But reacting to the report, the State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP David Misal, said the allegations were untrue as the command had drafted patrol teams to the affected villages.
Misal, however, called on the monarch to submit a formal complaint to the office of the Commissioner of Police.