Hundreds of women from the Munga Lelau community in Karim
Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State on Tuesday staged a peaceful
protest over the killing of their husbands amid ongoing communal violence.
Clad in black to signify mourning, the women marched several
kilometers from their village to Karim, the administrative headquarters of the
council.
Wielding placards with various inscriptions and green
leaves, they chanted sorrowful songs and demanded immediate intervention from
the authorities.
Speaking, the leader of the demonstrators, Rejoice Ishmael
Sunday, called on the state government to temporarily halt the movement of
Fulani herders in the area.
She alleged that the violence amounted to “genocide” and
accused security operatives of complicity in the attacks.
“We are being killed in our sleep. Our husbands are gone. We
are crying out for help. Let the government protect us by deploying more
security to stop this bloodshed,” Rejoice said.
The protesters also urged the state government to ensure
fairness in the work of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry investigating the
crisis, stressing that justice and inclusivity in the process would be critical
to lasting peace.
Responding, chairman of the council, Bitrus Danjos,
commended the women for conducting a peaceful protest and promised to escalate
their concerns to relevant authorities.
He reaffirmed the council’s readiness to work with security
agencies and community leaders on peace building efforts.
However, the protest was briefly marred when security
operatives reportedly fired teargas at the demonstrators, citing the absence of
prior notification to the police. Some of the women were said to have fled in
panic, though no injuries were confirmed.
The demonstration is coming on the heels of a recent peace
accord signed by various ethnic and community groups, including the Bandwa,
Jenjo, Fulani and Munga communities, aimed at ending months of deadly clashes
in the region.
It would be recalled the over 40 persons were recently
killed in Munga Lelau community of the council, with valuables worth millions
of naira destroyed.
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