Commotion As Gunmen Storm Taraba Community, Shoot A Secondary School Principal Dead

File photo

According to a report by TheGuardian,  the principal of a secondary school has reportedly been killed and several other residents injured by unknown gunmen suspected to be militiamen in Wukari Council of Taraba State.

Despite the presence of heavily armed security operatives in the southern part of the state, gunmen have continued to attack innocent citizens.

The incident, which occurred yesterday afternoon along Tsokundi road in Wukari, was said to have brought business activities to a standstill, forcing residents to seek alternative abode.

The principal, whose name was given as Yusuf Yaro, was said to be on is a way to his office at Government Secondary school (GSS), Tsokundi, when he was hacked down by the militia whom The Guardian learned stormed the area about 12.35 pm yesterday.

While the motorcyclist conveying the late principal to the school reportedly escaped with various degrees of injuries, the attackers, as gathered by our correspondent, did not spare passers-by as they were said to be shooting sporadically.

Confirming the report, the caretaker chairman of Wukari Council, Daniel Adi, described the incident as a “surprising attack”, while calling on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to book.

Adi, who claimed that the attackers were Tiv militia, felt sad that despite the several peace talks between the Tiv and the Jukun for ceasefire, “the Tiv are still bent on carrying out attacks on the Jukun ethnic group.”

But the president of Tiv Socio-cultural Association, Goodman Dahida, denied the allegation by Adi, but promised to get back to our correspondent as soon as the details of the attacks were made available to him.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), David Misal, was not on sit to confirm the incident when The Guardian called, and could not return phone calls and text messages sent to him over the matter.

However, a senior police officer who would not want his name in print agreed that there was an attack in Tsokundi area of Wukar. “We learnt that a principal of one of the secondary schools was killed. I am also aware that this command has drafted additional police to the area, so I think there is no cause for alarm.”

The violence ranging from Tiv/Jukun upheavals to kidnapping and armed banditry necessitated the second phase of the army operations tagged Operation Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) in the area.