Terr0rists Take Over Taraba Communities, K!ll Scores Of People As Residents Claim Police Ignored Distress Calls

 

Terrorists Take Over Taraba Communities, Kill Scores Of People As Residents Claim Police Ignored Distress Calls

Community elders and religious leaders told SaharaReporters that suspected Fulani militia effectively took over many villages, forcing survivors to flee, occupying homes and farmlands and destroying churches and other properties.

Residents of several communities in Taraba State have accused the state government and security agencies of abandoning them to armed attackers after scores of persons were killed in sustained assaults on Tiv Christian settlements in Chanchanji district in the Takum Local Government Area.

Community elders and religious leaders told SaharaReporters that suspected Fulani militia effectively took over many villages, forcing survivors to flee, occupying homes and farmlands and destroying churches and other properties.

Speaking to SaharaReporters, a community elder and Northern Christians Religious Leaders Assembly (NOCRELA) official, Rev. Dr. Micah Philip Dopah, said repeated appeals to authorities had yielded no response.

“The issue has been on for long. But government is not doing anything. People are being killed daily without any help. We have written several pleas to the government but no response,” Dopah said.

Another community elder, who spoke to SaharaReporters during an interview on Tuesday morning, described the situation as dire, saying attacks had been ongoing for about two years but had escalated dramatically in recent weeks.

 

“Actually what is happening in Chanchanji local government and other neighbouring communities, Fulani herdsmen are attacking us. This started about two years. Properties destroyed. People killed,” the elder said.

He added that the scale of the killings in just one month was alarming.

“Those people will have been identified, I mean I identified corpses within 30 days between January and February this year. Some corpses are yet to be identified, some people are missing, we don’t know whether they are still alive or not.”

According to him, religious institutions and livelihoods have been largely wiped out.

“All farmlands, all churches especially the Roman catholics and the reforms. There were about 36 churches in the community, it is only two churches that now exist. Some of the churches were burnt down, some people ran for safety.”

He further said residents could no longer safely return to their ancestral homes.

“As I speak now, it is even very difficult to visit our communities again because the Fulani herdsmen have chased us out. They have occupied our houses and took over our farmlands.”

Despite notifying authorities, he alleged that nothing was done.

“We tried all efforts to inform the government but they kept telling us they don’t care about us. Yesterday, these people attacked another community again and killed a lot of people, we are still trying to count the corpse.”

Meanwhile, NOCRELA has formally condemned the attacks, describing them as coordinated and targeted.

In a statement signed by its Taraba State Chairman, Rev. Dr. Micah Philip Dopah, the Assembly said at least 102 people were killed within 33 days.

NOCRELA disclosed that between January 2 and February 3, 2026, suspected Fulani militia carried out no fewer than ten coordinated attacks on Tiv settlements in Chanchanji district, leaving over 31 persons injured, many of them women, children and elderly residents.

The group said the scale and frequency of the killings suggested a deliberate campaign against Tiv Christians and NKST churches, noting that several families were completely wiped out, while survivors were left with life-threatening injuries and limited access to medical care.

Beyond the deaths, the Assembly said houses and NKST church buildings were set ablaze, forcing mass displacement and disrupting church activities, as many residents fled to neighbouring communities for safety.

According to NOCRELA, Tiv community leaders and affected NKST pastors identified Fulani militia as the attackers and accused the government and security agencies of failing to act despite repeated warnings and distress calls.

Describing the killings as horrific and unacceptable, the group questioned how ten deadly attacks could take place within 33 days without decisive intervention, warning that continued inaction could embolden the attackers and deepen the humanitarian crisis.

NOCRELA called on the Taraba State government and security agencies to urgently apprehend and prosecute those responsible, deploy adequate security to vulnerable communities, and take concrete steps to protect Tiv lives and NKST churches, particularly in Chanchanji district.

The assembly also expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the NKST Church worldwide, while praying for the recovery of those injured.