Abel Orih Idoma
23 July 2008
Makurdi — No fewer than five persons have been reportedly killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed in the crisis between the Atagenyi and Omelemu communities of Apa local government area of Benue State.
THISDAY checks revealed that the crisis erupted following a dispute over ownership of a piece of land where a private construction company handling the Ugbokpo-Oweto road project had vacated leaving behind a large heap of stones.
The crisis, THISDAY learnt, started when the people of Omelemu who went to the site to pack the abandoned stones were stopped from doing so by the people of Atagenyi community who claimed that the land belong to them.
Following the series of attack and counter-attacks, Atagenyi community was completely razed down and totally deserted while Omelemu community also suffered similar fate just as a neighbouring community of Ojantele, which also came under threat have deserted their settlements for fear of attack.
Spokesman of the Omelemu community, Mr. James Audu, confirmed that they depended on the proceeds from the sale of the stones, arguing that the disputed land belong to them.
Nobody from the Atagenyi community could be reached for their comment as their village was completely deserted, but a source told THISDAY that the Atagenyi people were strangers who were given the piece of land to settle on and had no right to claim ownership with the Omelemu people who allegedly accommodated them.
Commenting on the issue, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Apa local government area, Mr. Okeke, described the situation as a break down of law and order, but assured that adequate security had been beefed up to curtail further escalation of the crisis.
Also reacting to the crisis, Chairman of Apa local government council, Mr. Cornelius Odeje, lamented the magnitude of lives and property lost in the crisis and urged all members of the communities to lay down their arms, saying policemen had been deployed to the area to ensure absolute restoration of peace and order.
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