Gombe community demands urgent gov’t intervention as communal clashes deepens
The Nyuwar Community Development Association in Gombe State has urged the state government to constitute a judicial commission of enquiry to unravel the root cause(s) of attacks by gunmen suspected to be from the Waja community.
The community made the call in a statement on Thursday by the National Chairman of the association, Galiyos Zullum, titled, ‘Nyuwar fourth unprovoked attack by suspected Waja militia’, in which it bemoaned the perennial hardship its people were experiencing.
The Jessu and Nyuwar districts were attacked on April 12 and 13, 2021 by gunmen suspected to be Waja militia. Twenty lives were lost and over 2,000 houses were burnt down, while property worth millions of naira were destroyed during the attack.
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According to the statement, a military man who came to quell the crisis during the recent attack sustained a gunshot wound, while many others were injured.
The statement read in part, “According to an eyewitness, a Lunguda youth, who was building his house that was destroyed during last year’s April attack, went to fetch water from a stream situated at Tudun Wada in Gulyimora village, Nyuwar. The stream serves both Waja and Lunguda communities.
“The Lunguda youth ran away for his dear life, having sustained injuries from machete cuts. Thereafter, his mud house was destroyed. He was traced to a nearby secondary school and some students were harassed, prompting others to run for their lives.
“The Army, after being alerted, came to repel the Waja militia, but it met strong opposition. In the process, a soldier was shot and is now receiving treatment.
The statement further said “The Waja militia outnumbered the security agents after re-assembling and started burning some houses at Chunyi and Gulyimora villages. The African Church pastor’s residence was burnt down by the Waja militia at Chunyi.”
While commending the deployment of security agents, the association noted that after last year’s incident and the subsequent visit of Governor Inuwa Yahaya, the two communities expected that a judicial commission of inquiry would be set up to investigate the cause of the attacks.
The statement added, “Three months after, there were other attacks on July 26 and 27, 2021, and now 11 months after, the fourth attack came as a result of the failure to constitute a judicial commission of enquiry into the matter.
“We pray that the government should set up a judicial commission of inquiry as done in other areas to investigate the immediate and remote causes of these persistent attacks, and those found guilty should be made to face the wrath of the law.
“We also want a technical assessment committee to be put in place to assess the level of destruction and those affected should be compensated accordingly. We also want the condition of the internally displaced old men, women, and children to be urgently looked into.
