A fresh crisis has erupted in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State which has left many people dead and scores injured.
Ekweanaedo News learnt that during the crisis, 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 situation 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 ,The crisis is not political or has anything to do with the farmers-herders crisis. It was just two people 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 newsperson saying;
“What happened today in Mangu is not good at all. We just woke up to hear that some people are burning houses and attacking anyone in sight. I cannot tell you how many houses were burnt, or the number of people 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, told newsmen that four persons died in the crisis.
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.”
