Reports from Kortse village in Gassol local government area of Taraba state say at least seven people were feared killed, and several others were left with various degrees of injuries, when some unidentified armed men suspected to be herdsmen invaded the village.
Taraba state in recent years has seen lingering religious, communal, political crises.
Residents said the victims were ambushed on their way to a rice farm near a popular fish pond in the area, 5 kilometers away from Dan-Anacha town, the commercial hub of the Gassol local government.
One of the victims, Esther Kumashenge, whose two sons Ushahemba Kumashenge and Sughter Kumashenge were killed in the attack, alleged that the attackers were from the house of one Alhaji Nyako.
According to her, the attackers sent people to spy on them and shortly after the attackers, who she said were known faces, emerged from the bush and started attacking them.
“On sighting them, we started running but their targets were the men among us and they faced them squarely, shooting and cutting them with cutlasses. They would have killed all of us if they want because we were armless,” she said.
Mrs Kumashenge added that many of the injured persons were receiving treatment at a private hospital in Dan-Anacha and First Referral Hospital in Mutum-Biyu.
Taraba State Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), DSP, Joseph Kwaji, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Saturday, said the unidentified gunmen attacked six families while they were fishing in Kortse village near Dan-Anacha.
He said only two persons were killed, while others ran for their dear lives.
Mr. Kwaji said the police combed the area immediately on receiving information about the attack but could not find the attackers, adding that two corpses were recovered and handed over to their families for burial.
