Many residents have been reportedly killed and houses burned in a crisis that ensued between herders and farmers in the Mai Tumbi community of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau state.
Daily Trust reports that the clash started on Friday and is still ongoing at the time of filing this report.
A resident, Ibrahim Musa, said, “The crisis is still ongoing.” Hundreds of people are fleeing the village.
“I cannot give you the exact number of people killed, but many were killed. More than a hundred houses were burned.”
The spokesperson for the state police command, DSP Alabo Alfred, who confirmed the incident, told Daily Trust that police and troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), a multi-security taskforce maintaining peace in the state, had been deployed to restore law and order.
He said, “I don’t want to give you conflicting figures.”
“Security personnel have been deployed to ensure normalcy in the area.”
The Director General of the Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PPBA), Joseph Lengmang, who condemned the incident, said, “We are deeply saddened by the ugly turn of events in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where disturbing reports indicate a deteriorating security situation in some parts of the locality that has led to the death of scores of precious human lives and property destroyed.”