THE Taraba State Police Command has confirmed an attack by unidentified gunmen on Gazabu, a community in Bali Local Government Area of the state.
Taraba State Police Spokesperson David Misal, in a phone conversation with The ICIR, said that the attack which occurred on Thursday, resulted in the deaths of about three people.
“The reports we received is that there is an attack by yet-to-be-identified gunmen, which led to the death of three people. That is the number we are able to confirm at the moment,” he said.
He stated that the Police were making efforts to restore peace, as security personnel had been deployed to the area to restrict the spread of violence to other communities.
“The commissioner has ordered the immediate deployment of Police personnel to the area, and investigation has commenced immediately. Also, we are trying to ensure that the attacks do not spread to other communities,” he said.
Like many states in Nigeria, Taraba has been faced with security crises in recent years. The rising spate of insecurity has been the major cause of mass internal displacement in the state.
According to reports, thousands of indigenes have given up their homes and drawn closer to the state capital, Jalingo, for safety. Some fear that their forced migration may be permanent as the violence has claimed several lives, homes, farms and other sources of livelihood.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.