Kogi communal crisis deepens

The communal crisis rocking Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi State took a new turn  on Sunday as the Mozum Development Association (MDA), accused the administrator of the council, Zakary Alumka of fueling the crisis and aiding the military to terrorise the people of the area.

Apart from the council chairman, the people also alleged that the member representing Bassa  constituency in the state House of Assembly, Sunday Shigaba, of contributing to the escalation of the crisis.

The chairman of  MDA, Abubakar Mohammed, said the two public  office holders were conniving with security operatives to arrest people from Ebira-Mozum under the pretence of providing security.

The people alleged that one of their kinsmen that was arrested by the soldiers, was tortured  to death, while many others were still languishing in detention.

The community, therefore, called for the removal of the men of the Nigerian Army and that of the Navy, deployed in the area to quell the crisis over allegation of partiality.

But reacting to the allegations, Alumka said the people that raised the allegations were those fueling the crisis and did not want the community to live in peace.

According to him, the security operatives were deployed following the request made to the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, based on the killing and the wanton destruction of property that accompanied the  crisis between the Ebira-Mozum and the Bassa-Komu.

He  said that  about six people were killed during the crisis, while about 10 were arrested with  sophisticated weapons that were being used to terrorise the communities in the local government area.

He noted that the Mozum people were only interested in using ethnic agenda to cause crisis and prevent government from finding  lasting solution to the age- long communal crisis.

In the same vein, Shigaba said the allegations by the Mozum people were baseless, unfounded and mischievous,  adding that he had always been interested in the peace of the community.

He said attempts were made to ensure that peace reigned in the community, accusing the Ebiras in the area of frustrating the attempts.

The lawmaker noted that a peace meeting was called last Friday to resolve the issue but was rebuffed and boycotted by the Mozum people, adding that the people were the one fueling crisis in the area.

Shigaba, however, called on  the state government to set up a panel of enquiry to look into the immediate and the remote causes of the crisis.