BREAKING: Tension mounts as fighting breaks out in Nasarawa

Serious fighting has broken out between the Fulani and
Eggon in the Tudun Adabu area of Obi local government of
Nasarawa State.
According to the police, most houses in the area have been
set ablaze while the town has been deserted.

The Managing Director of the Police Micro Finance Bank,
Alhassan Gidado, and two others were murdered in the
same area in September, 2013 when Ombatse militia
attacked neighbouring villages and passers-by.
The two others killed were the Abuja branch manager of the
bank, Tunde Banwo, and their driver, Aliyu Adamu in Tudun
Adabu.

The recent fight is a spill-over of the killings that occurred
between Monday and Tuesday around Assakio in Lafia local
government and Bakyano in Nasarawa Eggon Local
Government Area.

About 20 houses were burnt in Assakio on Tuesday while
the resident of the paramount ruler, Osula Inarigu, was
vandalised.
Tension has already enveloped the entire state for fear of
reprisal attacks across communities where Fulanis and
Eggons reside.

The state police spokesperson, Ismaila Numan, who
confirmed the incident, said information available to the
police was still sketchy especially as it concerns casualty
figures.

Mr. Numan also said that the town of Assakio, a few
kilometres outside Lafia, has been deserted.
"Houses around the chief's house have been set ablaze
while the chief's house was vandalised. We didn't recover
any corpse yet but the town has been deserted. The town is
just like a ghost town," he said.

In a press briefing Wednesday, the senior special assistant
on public affairs to the Nasarawa State governor,
Abdulhamid Kwarra, disclosed that communities in
Akwanga, Nasarawa Eggon , Lafia, Obi and Wamba local
government areas were enmeshed in crisis.

"The state has again been engulfed in security challenges in
the past seventy two hours, which has led to some fatalities,
and at the same time, displaced some persons," he said.

Mr. Kwarra said that the number of casualties would be
ascertained after the state Security Council meeting which
was still holding at the time of the briefing.
He said that government has taken proactive measures to
contain the situation.

Trouble reportedly started last weekend following a
misunderstanding between the Fulani and Eggon, which
resulted in a reprisal attack by Ombatse militia in support of
the Eggon at Alingani community in Lafia local government
area.

Investigation by PREMIUM TIMES showed that hundreds of
internally displaced persons, IDPs, were trooping to Lafia,
the state capital, and Nasarawa Eggon, the headquarters of
the Eggon tribe.

The police spokesperson, Mr. Numan, confirmed that there
were two casualties from Sunday's attack.