One hundred and fifty-seven residents of Taraba State displaced by violence in Magami area of Jalingo have called on the government and well-spirited individuals to come to their aid.
A resident, Umaru Gambo, who spoke on behalf of others, made the call on Friday at a press briefing held at the secretariat of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state capital.
Channels Television had reported that a fight over a lady’s love between two persons at a club in Magami led to the death of a young man and snowballed into a clash between two groups in November.
Worship centres and over 15 private houses and shops were said to have been looted and razed by hoodlums as a result of the clash.
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About two weeks after the incident, Gambo described the burning of houses and looting of properties as a well-coordinated and targeted attack on the residents of the community.
He claimed that they gave prior notice of the impending attack to security agencies in Jalingo, but that did not stop the incident from happening.
The residents asked the security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice, saying they would not hesitate to name the alleged sponsors of the violence at the panel of inquiry set up by the Jalingo Local Government Council to investigate the incident.
“That the government, NGOs, and public-spirited individuals should come to the aid of the affected people, security personnel should be deployed to the area to enable resettlement of the displaced populace,” Gambo told reporters.
He added, “Those that lost loved ones, properties and hospitalised should be considered by the government and NGO’s.
On their part, the police said they have commenced investigation into the incident and some of the perpetrators have been arrested.
The Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal, told reporters that peace has since returned to the affected community.
“A couple of arrests have been made, investigation is ongoing and so far, so good, we are not having issues there. The Commissioner of Police has been there himself and what is needed to be done has been done.
“We have placed our monitoring team in that area to put an eagle eye on the area and to restore confidence in the public,” he said.
