No fewer than 3 persons and 1500 were displaced, in a communal clash that has continued this morning, after it has erupted on over the weekend between the Fulani herdsmen and the Gwari in Gwako town situate under Gwagawalada Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory. As gathered the clash has affected 27 communities prompting for a resettlement camp at the Permanent Campus of the Univestiy of Abuja in order to accommodate displaced person.
Meanwhile a statement from the spokesperson of National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Alhaji Yushau Shuaib, said the coming in of said
NEMA statement read thus: “With less than 48 hours to another year, a communal clash erupted in Gwako, under Gwagwalada Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory this weekend. It drew the attention of NEMA and the Ministry of Capital Territory to jointly activate their search and rescue teams.
“The prompt intervention of the two agencies, including security personnel from the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the military has curtailed the escalation of the crisis, which started on Saturday because of alleged encroachment of herds of cattle into farmlands in the area.”
“The NEMA Director-General, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, hailed the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Muhammad, for the promptness of his agencies and his presence on the scene of the clash. He urged the warring parties to live peacefully with one another and eschew violence as we enter a New Year. Sani-Sidi said two people died and 27 communities were affected. He said over 1,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are squatting in a temporary camp on the permanent campus of the University of Abuja in Gwagwalada.”
Meanwhile the FCT Minister Bala Muhammad also led a delegation of other government agencies to the crisis area; this was to ascertain the impact of the incident. The Minister also urged the communities to remain calm as the government would ensure that the causes of the crisis were addressed so that they could return to their homes.
“The minister had asked NEMA to provide more amenities to the victims in the camp; he also constituted an emergency team for conflict resolution and relief distribution to the affected communities, with members from response agencies and Urban Affairs Department of FCTA.”
Meanwhile as a result of the Presidency has ordered for a tight security within the FCT especially as the year is about to end in matter of hours in order to avoid any overflow of the disaster. According to top security source, he said that the government is worried over the crisis, so as not to turn to the case of conflict being seen in Plateau State.
However, the military and the police have been directed not only to restore order but also protect life and property in the area, as Gwagwalada Area Council is a vital gateway to the FCT from the Southern part, this is done in order not to permit the catastrophe to aggravate and create a serious security challenge in the nation’s capital.
Already, investigation into the crisis has started, as the security officials has said it won’t take anything for granted with several road blocks and checkpoints mounted by security operatives set up within the Gwagwalada highway; security has been tightened in the FCT to prevent a spillover of Fulani in the territory.
