Some people have being killed in a fresh crisis in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
It was
learnt that during the unrest, several houses, including churches and mosques,
were burnt down.
Recall
that the governor of the state, Caleb Mutfwang had declared a 24-hour curfew in
the Mangun local government due to the unrest in the area.
Speaking
on the reason for the curfew during an interview with newsmen, the Special
Adviser to the Governor on Security and Homeland Safety, Brig.-Gen. Gakji Shipi
said that the situation was caused by a misunderstanding between two individuals
in the council area.
“The
current situation in Mangu is a result of two people that escalated. The crisis
is not political or has anything to do with the farmers-herders crisis. It was
just two human beings that had an altercation and by coincidence, one of them
happens to be a herder and the other person is a native.
“The
native was crossing with his motorcycle and the Fulani was grazing his cattle
and crossing the road and that obstructed traffic and there was an altercation
between them. When that happened, the Fulani people came in support of their
own and the natives also came in support of their own and the thing just got
out of hands and that led to the imposition of curfew in Mangu,” he said.
A
former lawmaker representing Mangu South, Bala Fwangji, confirmed the arson to
Punch.
Fwangji
said, “What happened today in Mangu is not good at all. We just woke up to hear
that some people are burning houses in Mangu and attacking anyone in sight. I
cannot tell you how many houses were burnt, or the number of people attacked or
killed, but these things happened today. But we thank God the security agents
have been deployed and the situation is calm now.”
The
Secretary-General of Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the
Natives, Nanle Gujor, however, told the publication that four persons were
killed during the unrest.
He
said, “I returned to Jos from Abuja and given what happened in Mangu today, we
are not happy. We are still assessing the situation, but I was told that four
persons were killed. I will let you know the details of the situation when we
are done.”
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