Houses Razed, 7 Killed In Nasarawa Ethnic Clash

A bloody clash over a land matter between the Gbagyi and Bassa ethnic groups in the Kudu village of Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has claimed seven lives with many others injured.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the crisis erupted when the Bassa ethnic group allegedly invaded a community where the Gbagyi people had settled for their farming activities.

A resident of the community who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent in Lafia on Tuesday that apart from those who sustained several degrees of injuries, many houses and farm produce worth millions of naira were destroyed as a result of the clash.

“The attacks are getting too much and the government seems to be silent about it. We can no longer sleep in our houses with our two eyes closed. We really need help in the Kudu community as soon as possible,” the source added.

Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has said the government recently developed strategies towards tackling insecurity in the LGA.

Sule disclosed this while presiding over an emergency executive council meeting which was held at the Government House, Lafia, on Monday.

According to him, even though the matter was not part of the agenda for the meeting, it had become necessary to bring it up before the executive council because lives had been lost due to the crisis in the LGA.

He further announced plans to convene a meeting involving the Gbagyi, Egbirra and Bassa communities to address the overriding distrust and perceived acrimony existing between them.

“The security agencies have already moved in there, and we will be able to get to the bottom of it.

“But most importantly, the moment we return from Abuja, we are going to have a meeting of the Gbagyi, the Egbirra and Bassa communities so that at the end of the day, we have to bring this to an end. It cannot go on in this unfortunate circle,” he stated.

Attempts to reach DSP Ramhan Nansel, the Police Public Relations Officer, were unsuccessful as of the time this report was filed because he was not returning calls to his cell phones.