The House of Representatives has asked the Chief of Defence staff to, as a matter of urgency, deploy Special Forces to Ussa and Takum Local Government Areas of Taraba state to stop the killings by bandits.
The house also directed the Inspector General of Police to deploy mobile Police Force to the sections of Takum- Bisaula Road where the bandits frequently attack and kill innocent road users.
It further directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) the North-East Development Commission and the Ministry of Humanitarian Services to provide relief materials, especially roofing sheets, for victims of the attacks who had been rendered homeless by the bandits, especially, as the rains sets in.
The directives followed a motion on Wednesday on matters of urgent public importance, moved by Hon. Rimamnde Kwewum, representating, Donga/Takum/Ussa/Yangtu federal constituency of Taraba state.
Kwewum told the house of the coordinated attacks on communities in Takum and Ussa LGAs which he said had resulted in the killing of over 50 people in the last week alone.
Kwewum said, the bandits set up a camp along Takum – Bisaula road, “shooting randomly at people, and in one fell swoop ambushed and macheted 10 people to death”.
The lawmaker said, “several electoral wards, such as Fikyu and Kpambo Puri in Ussa LGA came under attack with heavy casualties, mostly women and children.
He said further that since the withdrawal of Special Forces in 2020, Ussa LGA, “does not have the presence of soldiers or Mobile Police Force detachment to respond to the attacks which had become very frequent, leading to the closure of all schools, for almost one year.”
He told the house that, in the last one year, farming activities in most communities in the two LGAs, were disrupted by bandits who destroyed over 60 communities and killed over 400 persons.
Kwewum lamented that the activities of the criminals at the onset of the rainy season would greatly jeopardise agricultural activities, as Ussa and Takum are among the largest food providing LGAs in Taraba state.
He also expressed concerns that the state government had been unable to control the situation or call the attention of the federal authorities to the seriousness of the killings.
