Death toll in Taraba attack rises to 19 as police deny knowledge of incident

The death toll from the attack on Tse-Ajogo, a community in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, has risen to 19, including women, children and the elderly who were Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) returning to the village.

Although the police continue to deny knowledge of the recent attacks, killings and destruction of property in the Wukari area, locals have continued to display the bodies of those killed during Wednesday’s attack on the village.

A resident identified as Achibo told BusinessDay that after confirming the deaths of 17 returning IDPs who were hurriedly buried at different locations on Wednesday, one of the injured victims later died in the hospital, while another body was discovered in the early hours of Thursday during a search for missing persons.

An eyewitness who narrowly escaped the attack said eight people were injured, many others remain missing, and seven houses were burnt. “Following the burial of the 17 returning IDPs and the two additional deaths today, it means 19 persons were killed in the attack,” the eyewitness said.

Read also: Bandits kill 17 returning IDPs in Taraba

However, Victor Mshelizah, public relations officer of the Taraba State Police Command, said the command had yet to receive any official report of the killings from the Wukari Division.

“I have contacted the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Wukari after receiving calls from different people about the attack, but he said he has no knowledge of the development. We cannot act until we receive a report from the DPO to authenticate the information,” he said.

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