Two die, 50 houses razed in Plateau communal clash

Two persons were on Tuesday confirmed dead and several wounded in a communal clash at a border between Pankshin and Kanke Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

The Chairman of Pankshin Local Government, Mr Samuel Goar, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria in Pankshin.

He said the clash was between Ngas and Pai people in Shiwer community of Pankshin LG and Dokpai community in Kanke council.

The chairman said mostly affected areas in the crisis were Piri, Tigiya and Irnet villages within the Shiwer and Dokpai districts.

He said it took the intervention of the security operatives and management of the two councils to stop the clash.

The chairman explained that the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday and left over 50 houses burnt with many people displaced.

Goar said the area in dispute was a piece of land covering three villages.

He said the clash was unfortunate and a sad one, noting that the communities had been living together for a very long time without any problem until now.

“We are not happy about the incident which left in its trail two dead bodies and several others injured with houses and other property destroyed.

“All we are trying to do now is to see how we can cater for the Internally Displaced Persons from the affected two warring communities,” he said.

The chairman thanked the security agents from the two councils for their swift intervention, especially the Special Task Force and the police, which curtailed the crisis.

Spokesman for the Military Special Tasks Force, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, also confirmed the crisis, saying soldiers had restored normalcy to the communities.