The Taraba State Police Command has confirmed the death of six persons following attack on Iware Market by suspected herdsmen in Ardo-Kola Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, ASP David Misal, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday, said: “Information available to us indicates that the attackers killed the yet-to-be identified people because the cows they brought to the market were their cows, stolen during the crisis in Lau. “We are yet to get the identity of those that were killed and I cannot confirm whether they are from Lau or not. We are still gathering intelligence on the attack to find out the perpetrators who took the law into their hands, instead of reporting to us, if really a case of cattle rustling was established.” Investigations, however, revealed that five of the victims were natives of Mayo-Lope in Lau Local Government Area, where mayhem was unleashed last week.
A source, who spoke to journalists on anonymity, said the victims whose business is cattle rearing, were trailed to the market by the attackers. He said: “They were trailed by their assailants all the way from Mayo-Lope to Iware, where they were hacked to death.
The few security men in the market could not help them. The market was disrupted, as people ran for dear lives.” The bodies were said to have been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo.