No fewer than nine persons have reportedly lost their lives during a communal clash between the Montol and Taroh ethnic groups in the Ponglong community, Mikang Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Several other persons were said to have sustained varying degrees of injuries in the clash which left houses, farmlands and barns destroyed.
Sources say the incident which began on Saturday night and lasted till Sunday morning, March 24, 2024 was caused by a dispute over farmland between members of the two aggrieved ethnic groups.
Though security operatives had been reportedly deployed to the affected community to restore normalcy, it was gathered that some criminals used the opportunity to rustle cattle.
Confirming the sad incident, the transition chairman of the council, Hon. Daniel Kungmi, disclosed that the clash, which started between two persons, later escalated and was hijacked by irate youths and criminals.
Kungmi noted further: “Within a short while, the situation degenerated leading to the burning down of houses and barns. Several criminal elements took advantage of the unfortunate situation and rustled cattle.
Immediately we got the news of the clash, we called on security operatives who moved swiftly to the affected community to restore law and order.
I just returned from the community and the situation is under control but we cannot ascertain the number of persons killed in the clash. I call on the people to be more tolerant and cautious of undesirable elements that might want to take advantage of the unfortunate situation to inflict harm on innocent persons”.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Musa Ashoms, who also confirmed the incident blamed the situation on a disputed land in the area.
He said; “I have just called the Mikang Local Government chairman over the issue. He told me that it is something that could have been avoided and not allowed to escalate to the point that people lost their lives, and at the moment, there are persons receiving treatment at the hospital.
It started as a result of a land dispute. The land in question cannot even produce six bags of rice, and you know when people are attached to their land, they can go the extra mile.
It is something they could have controlled, but somehow, it got to a point where others too joined them and houses were burnt down and people were maimed.”
Ashoms urged the people to always explore alternative dispute resolution measures in resolving their differences and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.
On his part, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, who equally confirmed the incident, revealed that security operatives had been deployed in the area while investigations on the incident are ongoing.
