Communal Clash In Kogi State Leaves Two Dead, Many Injured

At least two persons have been killed and many injured in a renewed fight between Egbira and Bassa-Kwomu tribes in the state, the Kogi state police command has said.

Mr Williams Aya, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, made this known in Lokoja yesterday while noting that the situation has been brought under control.

Aya said the clash was between returning Egbira indigenes who had been exiled from their ancestral homes and the Bassa-Kwomu tribe, which has been ongoing for months.

He explained that a team of officers led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) and Area Commanders, supported by the Army have been sent to the area.

Naija News understands trouble began when the government asked that Egbira people who left their homes when the crisis started were asked to return home after intervention of elders from the area.

The aim was to foster a long lasting relationship among the ethnic groups.

Security operatives and political appointees, including Bassa Local Government Area Administrator, Mr Samuel Alumka, were said to have followed the Egbira people to Oguma, the headquarters of the council.

They were expected to go back to their various villages and communities from Oguma.

However, an alleged uncomplimentary remark made by the paramount ruler of Bassa-Kwomu ethnic group, the Aguma of Bassa, Chief William Keke, sparked the crisis.

He was said to have asked the returning Egbiras to go back to Lokoja or where they had taken refuge.

In the process, the sources said that fight ensued between the tribes, leaving a trail of casualties as some other persons were said to have lost their lives in the fracas.