The Munga Dosso community in the Karim-Lamido LGA has appealed to the Taraba government to ensure the strict enforcement of its anti-open grazing law to address the herder-farmer conflict.

Robert Bukar, youth leader of the community, made the appeal on Monday in Jalingo.

The Munga Dosso community has come under an attack recently by suspected herders, where scores were killed, and property worth millions of naira was destroyed.

Mr Bukar noted that the bill was signed into law by former Governor Darius Ishaku in 2018.

He said that enforcing the law would address the lingering farmer-herder conflict. He also decried the absence of government representatives in the crisis-affected community.

The youth leader also said that the community was left to its fate at the time its 12 members were killed by suspected herders and were given mass burial.

“Notably, no government representatives from federal, state, or local levels visited the community after this incident. We have a senator, a House of Representatives member, and a state assembly member, yet none deemed it necessary to visit us and listen to our lamentations. 

“It is true that the state government sent relief materials to the victims, but relief materials are not our problem. We expected their solidarity at the time. The aftermath of such violence has tragically resulted in not only fatalities but also a significant number of injuries and displacements,” said the youth leader. 

Mr Bukar added, “It has led to a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention. Families are left to mourn their loved ones while survivors grapple with trauma and insecurity. Access to essential resources has become increasingly challenging, complicating efforts for community stability. 

“Moreover, in all these cases, our people are often arrested and taken from police stations to prison, but none of the perpetrators are brought to justice. It is only in the recent crisis that the herders were arrested with rifles by the police in Karim-Lamido but were released the next day.” 

The youth leader also appealed to the government to increase security deployment to allow farmers to return to their farms safely.

He also requested that the Taraba government ensure that the recently constituted administrative committee of enquiry carry out a thorough investigation to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of the recent attacks. 

(NAN)