Bandits suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on Wednesday attacked Tiv farmers at Ihuman village in the Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, killing seven persons.

It was learnt that the attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded the community at about 5pm, shooting at the villagers.

Investigation also revealed that the victims, who had been taking refuge at Kange town in the Awe Local Government Area following attacks on Tiv communities in the Southern Senatorial Zone of the state, had gone back to the village to take some food items in their homes when the attackers emerged from the bush and opened fire on them.

One of the residents of the area, Mr. Philip Dodo, who survived the attack, informed our correspondent that three of his relations were still missing.

Confirming the attack to our correspondent in an exclusive interview, the President of the Tiv Youth Organisation in Nasarawa State,  Peter Ahemba, described the attacks as “unfortunate.”

He said, “For us the indigenous Tiv people of Nasarawa State, we have no any other place to run to, and that is why we continuously count on our Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, for a solution to this unfortunate development.

“We appreciate the efforts being made by the state government and other stakeholders towards the restoration of peace to our communities but we can only stop crying to the authorities when a solution is finally found.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Command, John Kennedy, told our correspondent on the telephone that he had not been briefed about the attack.

He said, “The command has yet to be briefed on the attack on Ihuman village in the Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.”

Meanwhile, the death toll in the communal clashes in the Toto Local Government Area of the state has risen to 30, Bassa community has claimed.

Investigation by The PUNCH revealed that the crisis started with an attack on Sebu village at about 10.30pm on Monday.

The Public Relations Officer of the Bassa Cultural and Development Union in Nasarawa State, Duniya Moreh, disclosed this in a statement issued in Lafia on Wednesday.

He said, “No fewer than 30 Bassa persons have been murdered with many still missing and unaccounted for. This figure includes women and children, whom it is universally accepted, should be spared and unharmed in a situation of crisis.

“It is disheartening that over 50,000 Bassa persons are currently displaced and living in the surrounding local government areas of the state. Many more are still in the bushes trying to find their way out of the local government area.”

He traced the crisis to an inter-communal clash that took place in Kogi State.

“True to their threats, the Egbura, on Sunday, April 22, 2018, kidnapped two Bassa brothers from the same parents who are residing in Umaisha town. The boys, Ephraim Gunu and Manaseh Gunu, have not been found till date and are presumed to have been murdered.”

It was also learnt that unidentified gunmen attacked Bassa village at about 5.30am on Monday.

Following the development, a former Nigeria Ambassador to Poland, Dr Samuel Jimba, called on both the national and state emergency management agencies to immediately open up Internally Displaced Persons camps within the local government and send relief materials to the victims of the clash scattered in various parts of the state and the Federal Capital Territory.

He called for a total cessation of the clashes and a return to dialogue towards lasting peace in the Toto Local Government Area.