Ndaka militiamen attacked Bissaula community in Kurmi Local Government Area, Taraba State, killing three mobile policemen deployed to maintain peace and an elderly woman. The attackers also made away with the service rifles of the slain officers. The attack occurred despite the recent inauguration of a nine-member Commission of Inquiry by Governor Darius Ishaku into the protracted communal crisis between the Ichen and Ndaka (also referred to as Dakka-Chamba) peoples.
16 Mar 2022 · Bisaula, Kurmi, Taraba
Deaths
4
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
4
Perpetrators
Communal/Ethnic Militias
Response
Governor Darius Ishaku established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the crisis. He also suspended the traditional leadership in the area to prevent further inflammatory appointments. Security personnel were deployed, though local leaders recently (as of 2025/2026) still call for a permanent security post.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Longstanding ethnic rivalry between Ichen and Ndaka, contested land/resources, weak enforcement of peace agreements.
Trajectory
Despite peace accords signed in 2023, renewed nighttime attacks were reported as recently as November 19, 2025, targeting the local "Taraba Marshal" commander. This shows that the 2022 clash was not an isolated event but the beginning of a sustained militia insurgency in Kurmi LGA.
Cycle notes
This mirrors the Wukari (2013) and Zangon Kataf (1992) crises, where host communities sought to block settler groups from gaining political or traditional recognition, triggering cycles of “cleansing” and reprisal.
Pattern
Ethnic Communal Violence
Related — Communal Violence
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