Local sources told SaharaReporters that the attackers advanced from the creeks bordering Gombe and overran several settlements from the western axis, sacking Tingno, Waduku and two other villages.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

Panic has gripped parts of Adamawa State as heavily armed Chobo-speaking tribal militia from neighbouring Gombe State, joined their counterparts in Adamawa state and launched coordinated assaults on Bachama communities in Lamurde Local Government Area, leaving dozens feared dead.

Local sources told SaharaReporters that the attackers advanced from the creeks bordering Gombe and overran several settlements from the western axis, sacking Tingno, Waduku and two other villages.

“They’ve burnt Waduku and Tingno to ashes,” one source said. “Our youths mobilised quickly to stop them from pushing into Rigange.”

Another resident confirmed that although the assailants attempted to move towards Lamurde, the LGA headquarters, they were repelled.

“But Tingno and Waduku are completely destroyed,” he added.

The fresh violence erupted barely days after Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri brokered a fragile peace deal between the warring Chobo and Bachama groups, according to Dr. Jamila Suleiman, Executive Vice Chairperson of the Adamawa State Peace Commission.

As attacks continued, Governor Fintiri imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lamurde LGA. Security operatives have now been deployed to the flashpoints, the spokesperson for the Adamawa State Police Command, SP Suleiman Nguroje, announced.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Nguroje urged residents to comply strictly with the curfew order.

“Following a renewed communal clash in Lamurde LGA and the declaration of a 24-hour curfew by the state government, the command advises the public—especially those within Lamurde—to stay indoors to prevent further breakdown of law and order,” he said.

He said the Commissioner of Police, CP Dankombo Morris, has deployed additional tactical units to enforce the curfew and maintain stability in the troubled area.

“The command, in collaboration with sister security agencies, will not allow miscreants and misguided elements to operate unchallenged,” Nguroje warned, assuring that officers would act within the law while avoiding unnecessary loss of life.