From: Henry Iyorkase, Makurdi
Hell was let loose as pandemonium erupted yesterday night at Agasha in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, as suspected militia men set ablaze over fifty houses and destroyed other properties.
A victim who escaped death by the whiskers and relocated to seek refuge with relatives in Makurdi, but preferred to remain anonymous, disclosed that on the fateful night, at about 11 p.m., militia men numbering at least fifty stormed the town, armed to the teeth, and started shooting into the air.
According to our source, the militia men were believed to have come from neighbouring Mbakor in Tarka Local Government Area, which is closely adjacent to Agasha.
He stated that there had been a running battle between Mbakor of Tarka and Nongov of Agasha, Guma, over land encroachment from time immemorial.
Though it was learnt that the other neighbour deliberately refused to engage the warring party.
It was learnt that the two neighbours had lived peacefully from time immemorial and even intermarried.
Trouble began when the corpse of a son of Mbakor, whose name was withheld, who had lived in Agasha for a long time, was brought for burial.
Unfortunately, his kinsmen allegedly rejected the deceased. It took the intervention of several meaningful individuals for the community to accept him, but all efforts initially fell on deaf ears.
The Triumph checks learnt that no life was lost during the crisis, as it took the intervention of law enforcement agents to disperse the militia men.
Efforts to clarify the incident with the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Orchia Aondongu Peter, were futile, as several calls to his mobile line and text messages were not returned.
When contacted, the Council Chairman, Hon. Maurice Orwough, confirmed the development, saying concerted efforts had commenced to ensure that elders from the two sides come together and resolve the matter amicably.