Residents flee as fresh communal clash claims 10

From Gambo Ahmed, Lafia

About 10 people were feared killed yesterday in another crisis that erupted in Nasarawa state after repeated gunshots in Lafia, the state capital, as gunmen yesterday morning attacked Alakyo village.

Alakyo is the village where over 89 security operatives were killed last year by the Ombatse militia group.

Meanwhile, four people’s remains were deposited at the Specialist Hospital Lafia, along Shendam Road, while scores of children and women were seen in the early hours trekking to Nasarawa Eggon, about 30 kilometres from Lafia.

Security operatives were also seen parading the streets of Lafia, dispersing some protesting youth.

The fresh crisis came barely a day after governor Al-makura led top echelons in his administration to Peace and Unity Walk, in a seven-kilometer trek to demonstrate peace, as part of activities marking his 62nd birthday.

Besides, the state’s Head of Service, Dominic Bako, who ran into the crisis, was among several others who escaped with gunshots and was receiving treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialists Hospital, in Lafia.

It was gathered that an angry mob forcefully stopped passengers on transit and matcheted them down, causing panic amongst several commuters that were stranded during the fracas, which lasted for several hours before the arrival of security forces.

Responding to questions from journalists on his sick bed, the state’s Head of Service, Dominic Bako, who ran into the crisis while returning from a condolence visit at Aridi, said, “There was an accident at Aridi, which involved two cousins to my wife; so I picked her and a brother and we went there. It was when I was coming along the way, after Keffi Wambai, that I met a lot of boys in mufti with guns and cutlasses. They shot me on my hand; they had wanted to shoot me on the head, so I used my hand to block it; but the vehicle I was travelling in was destroyed. It was just by the grace of God that I survived”.

Bako advised people of the state to tolerate one another and live in peace, as illustrated by the governor during the Peace and Unity Walk Day at the weekend.