The three days beginning from April 1 will linger in memories of farmers in Dugwer community, Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State for years. They were three ugly days during which bulldozers rolled into the community from nowhere, pulling down houses and causing its inhabitants run helter-skelter for refuge.

Many members of the ancient community that sprawls over 500 hectares of land and occupied largely by Tiv agrarian farmers were sent into early graves in the ensuing imbroglio while many of the houses were destroyed.

A dispute that erupted over a large portion of land in the community many months ago had reached a crescendo on April 1 as residents of the community woke up to the sounds of sparodic shootings that culminated in the death of one person. The shooting was allegedly carried out by local vigilantes, allegedly loyal to a paramount traditional ruler in the area accused of dropping the name of the state governor as an interested party.

It was gathered that the monarch in question had approached the leaders of the community to inform them that the governor of the state was interested in the disputed land, hence the people should vacate the land and move to a new location the monarch promised them.

Although the monarch in question was said to have engaged the leaders of the community in several interactions and and also employed coercive measures to ensure compliance with the new directive, the community’s leaders refused to budge, culminating in the violence that erupted on April 1.

A 67-year-old member of the community, Mr Apee Azera, provided a graphic account of the conflict, when he told our reporter that an attempt to forcibly take over their lands had first manifested during a communal crisis in 2014, and since then, the community has known no peace.

Azera said: “When the 2014 conflict which displaced our people was over, we returned to our ancestral home only to meet one strange person by name Danladi claiming ownership of our land. We challenged him up to the Court of Appeal in Yola and won.

“Between 2017 and 2018, another communal crisis drove us away and upon return, we met some armed people surveying our lands. They did not allow us get close to them so as not to know their mission.

“After some time, a traditional ruler invited some of us who are elders of this community to his palace. He told us that the Governor of Taraba State wanted our land.

“But we told him that we were neither civil servants nor business men. We are farmers. If the government is taking this place from us, where are we going to stay? He said he would show us a place to relocate to.

“We were yet to be shown a place when we woke up on April 1 to see that a bulldozer had been primed to destroy our ancestral homes.”

The octogenarian community leader, who told our reporter that even his father was born in the community, wondered why the state government would consider such an action against them on a land where they have the graves of their forefathers and loved ones besides their farming activities, which is the mainstay of their survival.

Another member of the community, 56-year-old Zaki Iorchir Ternenge, who described himself as the leader of Dugwer Community, told our reporter that their community had never had it this bad until the said monarch ascended the throne.

He said: “We were here for decades even before the traditional ruler was born. Some of our uncles even taught him in his primary school days.

“When he contested election, we gave him our massive support, feeling that he was part of us. Since the days of our forefathers, we never had any issue with any authority.

“Now that our fathers are no more, he and his cohorts are all out to destroy us. He is fond of giving portions of our lands to strangers and using security men to intimidate us at any slightest resistance.

“On this phase of the land grab attempt, he started by inciting one Danladi to claim the land but we defeated him in the court of law.

“When that approach failed, he engaged us in several meetings, trying to convince us that the Governor of Taraba State was interested in the land and he did not want to disappoint him.

“He promised to give us another land, but we asked him the fate of our economic trees, the graves of our forefathers and which portion of land in Bali LGA is so vacant that it can accommodate about 6,000 people, which is the population of our community.

“We were in this stalemate when on 1st April some people, including two of the monarch’s prominent title holders and loyalists, brought bulldozers into our community and told us that he had directed that every inhabitant of the community should vacate the land to allow the bulldozers to start clearing it, adding that anyone who decided to stay behind would be doing so at his own risk.”

Meanwhile, the crisis assumed a deadly dimension on April 3 as armed local vigilantes, allegedly under the instruction of the traditional ruler, stormed the community, killing a 42-year-old Terwase Ayem while many other residents sustained various degrees of injury.

The attackers, according statements from the locals, also looted farm products and personal effects worth millions of naira.

Among those who escaped with severe injuries was the leader of the community, Zaki Ternenge, whose motorcycle was taken away while other property, like those of other community members, was looted by the invaders.

“The monarch himself came in company with a DPO (Divisional Police Officer) and intimidated us where our people were gathered around the bulldozer.

“Immediately they left, some armed youths numbering about 60 and armed with dangerous weapons came and started chasing our people and shooting at them.

“They also looted farm products reserved by some of our members as well as motorcycles and other personal belongings.

“About 15 motorcycles were carted away. We lost property worth millions of naira. Among those who died was Mr Terhemen. Some were shot while they were on the run.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, however denied that Governor Darius Ishaku was involved in the forcible land seizure.

He said there was no way the Governor, who he described as a man of integrity, would be involved in a deal that does not have a clear arrangement.

Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Taraba State Police Command, Usman Abdullahi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the situation had been brought under control.

He added that some arrests had been made while useful information was being gathered to get to the roots of the matter.

Dugwer, a highly populated Tiv community, is located on Takum Road, about three kilometres away from Bali town.

The community is believed to have a population of about 6, 000 people spread across 500 hectares of land. (The Nation)

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