Community leaders in Taraba State have issued a desperate plea for security reinforcement following a violent nighttime assault that has jeopardized years of delicate peace-building efforts in the troubled Bissaula community.
A Sudden Attack Shatters Fragile Calm
On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, suspected militia from the Ndaka-Chamba ethnic group launched a brazen attack on Bissaula town in Kurmi Local Government Area. The assailants fired sporadically and specifically targeted Baba Umaru Gambo, a former youth leader who now serves as the commander of the Taraba Marshal in the local government.
According to accounts from community leaders Steven Ibrahim Agya, the former council chairman, and Alhaji Idi Ismaila of Bissaula ward, Gambo was seated outside with another resident, Kefas Hassa Bui, when the attackers struck. As both men attempted to flee, the assailants pursued Gambo and shot him multiple times, leaving him with severe injuries. He is currently receiving medical treatment, while Bui managed to escape unharmed.
Long-Standing Conflict and Peace Efforts
The recent violence represents a major setback to a protracted peace process aimed at resolving hostilities between the Ichen and Ndaka-Chamba groups, a conflict that traces its origins to December 16, 2021. On that date, suspected Ndaka-Chamba militia invaded Bissaula, killing numerous residents and destroying property worth millions of naira.
Over the years, multiple peace initiatives have been undertaken. Former Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the root causes of the conflict and recommend lasting solutions. The current administration under Governor Agbu Kefas continued these efforts, convening a significant peace meeting in Bissaula last year where both factions signed an accord pledging peaceful coexistence.
To strengthen the agreement's implementation, Governor Kefas dispatched security personnel and government officials to the town in December to assess destruction and prepare for the return of displaced residents. The Ichen Traditional Council also held a reconciliation meeting where both sides agreed to embrace peace, allowing displaced families to begin rebuilding their homes.
Appeal for Sustained Security and Peace
The community leaders have now questioned whether genuine peace has returned to Bissaula, given this recent disruption. They have made an urgent appeal to Governor Agbu Kefas to deploy a permanent team of security operatives to sustain the fragile peace and enforce the terms of the Bissaula peace accord.
They also called on non-governmental organizations and religious bodies to intensify peace sensitization, particularly within the Ndaka-Chamba community. Reaffirming the Ichen community's commitment to peaceful coexistence, the leaders stressed the critical need to protect local resources and ensure collective growth for all residents.
"We are ready to embrace peace. We call on all and sundry to do the same so that we can live together peacefully, as before," the leaders stated emphatically during their press briefing in Jalingo over the weekend.
