Police confirm death of 9 persons in Misau land dispute

From Ahmad Mohammed, Bauchi

Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed the death of Nine people six injured in a clash between herders and farmers in Zadawa village of Misau Local Government Area of the State.
Police Public Relation Officer PPRO, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil confirmed the clash while answering question from newsmen in Bauchi.
He said that from the sketchy report available, nine people were confirmed dead while six were injured and presently receiving treatment, and the situation has been put under control as Police personnel and other security agents have been drafted to maintain peace in the affected areas as well as avert reprisal attacks.
Chairman of Misau LGA, Yar Mohammed Gwaran, and a member representing the area in the State House of Assembly, Hon Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo, while speaking with journalists via telephone interview confirmed the violent clash in the area and the casualities , but assured that security personnel have since taken control of the situation and calm is gradually returning.
Presently, he said the situation has been bought under control as security agents have been drafted to the area to keep the peace.
Bakoji Bobbo added that a stakeholders meeting was ongoing, as of the time he spoke, on how to amicably resolve the issue considering that it is a minor misunderstanding between brothers.
A senior official in the Misau LGA said that the clash was over ownership of land in the surrounding settlement where herders are occupying for grazing over the years, but which was to be converted to farmland by the authorities, a development that did not go down well with the herders.
He said that the issue has been lingering for a long time with the herder Fulanis resisting the move to make the area a farming land. Not even the assurance of a grazing section for them could pacify them.