No fewer than 20 people were feared killed yesterday in a renewed ethnic violence that engulfed Assakio in Lafia local government area of Nasarawa State. A disagreement which appeared to have been resolved over payment of a stipulated amount of money to the traditional head ruler of the area was said to have triggered the crisis.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND investigations revealed that Eggon, one of the communities in the area, had opposed the payment of the money to the said ruler from Alago, whom they accused of taking advantage of the peaceful nature of the community to enrich himself.
The two communities – Alago and Eggon – were said to had a lingering disagreement over land and monetary matters, which snowballed into the latest round of conflict.As a result of the crisis over the ownership of the land in contention between the two communities, the state government is reported to have barred both communities from tilling the land until further notice.
But it was learnt that members of the Eggon community defied the standing order and went ahead to cultivate the land.
Angered by the defiance of the Eggon natives, the custodian of land issues in the area and Osakyo of Assakio, His Royal Highness Francis Inarigu, and members of his council dispatched an emissary to the Eggon farmers to desist from farming on the disputed land.
It was learnt that, rather than heed the advice of the monarch, the emissary was beaten up and left in a critical condition.
The early morning attack which took many by surprise had many persons clubbed to death, while properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed.
The state commissioner of police who visited the area to assess the extent of damage, immediately deployed a contingent of riot policemen to quell the mayhem.
Nasarawa State police public relations officer, Mr. Cornelius Ocholi, and one assistant superintendent of police confirmed that normalcy had been restored in the affected community, even though sporadic gunshots could still be heard last night.