CLASH: 2 Killed, Scores Injured

Two people have been killed with four others injured in a renewed clash between Eggon youths and Fulani herdsmen in Nasarawa Eggon and Lafia Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that Eggon youths, at the weekend, raided a Fulani community in Alingani, to avenge the killing of their kinsmen by the Fulani in Fadaman Bauna, Lafia Local Government, penultimate week.

The youths, numbering about 20, were said to have stormed the community in the evening where they laid siege on worshippers in a Mosque, killing two and injuring others. The attackers also burnt down houses belonging to the fleeing Fulanis.

While recounting their ordeal, the state secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Husseini Abubakar, told our correspondent that four Fulani persons were killed by Ombatse militia.

Husseini, who stressed that the Eggon are a peace-loving people, who have co-existed with the Fulani in the area, for over 150 years, said the current Ombatse onslaught on several communities in the state cannotbe said to be an ethnic clash with the Eggon ethnic nationality.

Our leaders from both Eggon and Fulani communities in the state must not allow youths, most of whom are drug addicts and mentally deranged, to set such a violent social agenda for us. So we are calling on our leaders, the government and security agencies to halt this lingering violent aggression he said.

When contacted, the president general of Eggon Cultural Development Association (ECDA) Mr. Chris Mamman, said he was informed about the incident but was not in a position to offer any official statement because he was not in custody of the facts of what actually transpired.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ismaila Numan, who confirmed the incident, however, said the police only recovered three persons who were injured and took them to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, for medical attention.