BY SAM EYOBOKA

FOLLOWING a break out of another clash in Wukari Local Government in Taraba State, President of Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria, CRCN, Rev. Caleb Ahima, has raised concerns about a purported peace deal at the instance of the acting governor, Mr. Garba Umar.

A statement made available to Sunday Vanguard asked: “Has the peace deal in Taraba yielded any good? The answer is, No! We are aware that it may take time for things to settle, but there should at least be some concrete evidence of cessation of hostility. We speak because we are a major Christian denomination in Taraba State, and we have suffered heavy tolls in human lives and personal effects. We want the world to know the truth of what transpires here in southern Taraba, where we have a preponderance of our membership.”

Continuing, the cleric averred that several farmers responding to the news of the peace deal ran into several ambush by mercenaries and were wounded or killed. “An Umaru Agyo Kuyu in Gindin Dorowa, one of the towns invaded by the insurgents, was slaughtered in his farm at Mbambya (outskirt of Gindin Dorowa) as he went to commence farming. This is just one that has been revealed because his body could be found, bearing the characteristic murderous acts of the insurgents. Only God knows how many more innocent Nigerian lives will be lost in this scenario.”

Rev. Ahima maintained that it was during this incidence that some Fulani mercenaries who had sneaked into Gindin Dorowa started burning a nearby Tiv hamlet (Abeda-chechiya) and the locals reported to soldiers on peace mission to the area. “But for the timely intervention of the soldiers, the hamlet would have been completely destroyed. We call upon the soldiers in the Gindin Dorowa-Bantaje axis of the Wukari Local Government Area to intensify surveillance/patrols, and protect the lives of the people against operations of the mercenaries.

“It is worrisome that with insurgents still in the area, the Taraba State government would come on air to announce peace and by implication, call people to return to their devastated and insecure settlements.

“Who were the parties involved in the crisis for which peace deal is said to have been reached? To the best of our knowledge, Christians and all non-Muslims in Wukari LGA were targeted by the Islamic insurgent mercenaries. It has been claimed by Christian defenders of the Taraba deputy governor, that the Taraba crisis had no religious coloration. However, in the false peace deal reached, Muslim and Christian representatives were invited to sit and make peace, and they are the two key religious groups in southern Taraba. What were they signing for if the crisis was not religious?

“True and acceptable peace and reconciliation procedure, governments and charity organisations normally respond with aid to the victims. Did the Taraba State government give any aid to the wounded and traumatized people as part of the process to restore confidence for peace building? Remember, these are people who lost dear ones and personal effects, and have not been helped yet; and are coerced into signing a so-called peace deal. Is this the right thing for the government to do?

“Usually, it is parties at war that sit to find lasting solutions to their crisis, formulate a peace document. It is such a document that can be relied upon and used to judge any reneging party.

“In the case of the so-called peace document signed in Wukari, it was formulated in Jalingo, by the Deputy Governor and his administration; and all who signed the document were coerced into doing so. Can this be a document that can promise lasting peace? The Federal Government needs to know that the peace that is said to have returned to Wukari is a peace forced upon invaded and wounded people who are still nursing their deep mental and physical wounds,” the statement further stated.