Segun Awofadeji in Gombe
A policeman in Gombe State last Wednesday morning died from gunshot wounds he sustained during a communal clash over farmland that occurred last weekend between Billiri and Shongom communities in state.
Briefing journalists on the incident thursday, the state Police Commissioner, Austin Iwar, said the over two-decade long lingering crises resulted in the destruction of many property especially houses.
However, an unconfirmed report available to THISDAY has it that several persons might have lost their lives in the crises.
THISDAY checks revealed that though no arrest has been made up to the time of the press briefing, the police commissioner explained that policemen had already been drafted to the disputed area to maintain peace while an investigative team had also been put on alert to get to the remote causes of the recurring crises that have become an annual incident at the beginning of every farming season in the last 20 years.
According to the state police boss on June 23, 2017, he received a distressed call around 9:00 a.m. from the Billiri DPO that over 50 heavily armed men from Shongom chased away farmers in their farmland.
He explained further that on arrival, the police met the armed men from Shongom but when an attempt was made to stop them, the police had to withdraw to avoid blood-shed following the threats by the armed men.
Iwar said the crises could not abate the next day (on Saturday) because while a peace meeting between leaders of both communities was going on, Kufai village in Billiri Local Government Area was invaded by Shongom people where they razed down many houses.
He said he had personally spoken with the two paramount traditional leaders of the area, the Mai Kaltungo and the Mai Tangle, who both expressed dismay over the crises and promised to talk to their subjects.
“I have personally reported the matter to the Inspector-General of Police (IG), who expressed surprise and promised to send resources to us here,†Iwar stated.
