Fulani herdsmen kill Pastor, at least 50 others in Taraba

Over fifty persons including a pastor belonging to the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria were on Thursday night killed in attacks carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The attackers, who targeted the villages of Gon, Nzumosu, Bolki, Nyanga, Bukuto in the Numan Local Government Areas of the state, reportedly numbered over 200.

The attacks, which began in the evening, went on unimpeded as residents claimed the invaders allegedly planned and launched the attacks from Abbare, a neighbouring community in Taraba State.

The assailants were said to have burnt down three of the villages during the attack.

A resident of Bolki, James Nzonzo, said a boat conveying about 40 women and children fleeing the community capsized during the attack, adding that only five of the occupants survived.

The lawmaker representing Numan in the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Sodom Tayedi, while decrying incessant attacks by suspected herdsmen on the community, berated the fresh killings, describing it as offensive.

She expressed anger following the perceived reluctance of the military to contain insecurity, which had gone on in her constituency over the last three years.

The police in Adamawa State could not be reached for comments as calls put through to the acting Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Musa Habibu, were not answered.

(PUNCH)