Fresh protests rocked Numan town in Adamawa State on Tuesday as hundreds of women dressed in black marched through major streets, demanding justice over the killing of seven women during a military operation to quell communal clashes in neighbouring Lamurde LGA.
The violence stemmed from Monday’s renewed fighting between the Bachama and Chobo communities in Lamurde.
Residents accused security forces of delayed response, allowing the crisis to escalate.During the protest in Lamurde, women carrying leaves blocked roads and prevented military vehicles from entering the area, alleging bias in favour of the Chobo community.
Witnesses said troops opened fire on the crowd, killing four women instantly while three others later died in hospital. Eleven more are receiving treatment at Numan General Hospital.
“We only killed armed militias, not women protesters - Army”
The Nigerian Army has strongly denied shooting the women, insisting that troops attached to 23 Brigade, Yola, only engaged armed militia groups suspected to be fuelling the clash.In a statement, Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Captain Olusegun Abidoye, said soldiers were attacked by gun-wielding militias who were about to set the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat ablaze.
Troops neutralised three gunmen and recovered weapons.Captain Abidoye maintained that the two women who died were hit by stray bullets from untrained local militias mishandling automatic rifles, not by soldiers.
“Without equivocation, the casualties were caused by the untrained local militias,” the statement read.
Protesters reject Army’s account
Eyewitnesses and protesters in Numan insist the women were deliberately targeted by uniformed personnel.
Bwalason Samson, one of the protesters, displayed a bullet casing and told Daily Trust:
“Those who shot this bullet stopped the truck, went down on their knees, aimed at unarmed women at close range and fired rapidly. Over 20 people were shot; five lay dead. No one had weapons, we were only holding leaves.”
Another protester, Humwapwa Nanso, said: “Our women were killed by uniformed personnel. We call on government to protect our right to life as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.”
Reps member demands independent probeMember representing Demsa/Numan/Lamurde Federal Constituency, Hon. Kwamoti B. Laori, condemned the killings as “distressing, heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable,” describing them as a gross violation of human rights.
Laori called for an immediate, transparent and independent investigation, warning that failure to hold perpetrators accountable would repeat the impunity seen in previous incidents in the area in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew in Lamurde LGA and deployed additional security operatives to enforce order.
Community leaders have appealed for calm as the remains of some of the deceased women were brought to Lamurde for burial amid heightened tension.
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