The Chairman of Toto traditional Council, Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, on Sunday called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the sponsors and masterminds behind the Egbura/Bassa communal crisis.
On April 24, the Police in Nasarawa State confirmed the occurrence of a communal clash between the Ebira and Bassa ethnic groups in Ugya village in Toto Local Government Area of the state.
Abdullahi, who is the Ohimege Opanda, made the call on Sunday in his palace in Umaisha while addressing newsmen on the circumstances surrounding the Egbura/Bassa communal crisis in the area.
He said that arresting the masterminds of the communal crisis would not only forestall its re-occurrence but would also serve as
deterrents to others who do not wish the area well.
Abdullahi condemned the killings and destruction of properties worth million of Naira.
He called on the State Government to re-design its security network to help in apprehending and prosecution of the perpetrators of the devilish acts.
The monarch also called on the state government to identify the remote and immediate causes of the crisis, convey a peace and
reconciliation summit.
He commended Gov. Tanko Al-Makura for timely deployment of Army and other security agents to the area, adding that the gesture had helped in curtailing the ugly situation.
The traditional ruler urged the warring parties to sheathe their swords and co-exist peacefully, saying that no meaningful development can be achieved in a society in an atmosphere of rancour and confusion.
“I want to call on the state government to arrest the sponsors and masterminds of the Egbura/Bassa communal crisis, some of them are elites and their identities are not hidden to the government and the security agencies,” he alleged.
Also speaking, Chairman of Toto Local Government, Alhaji Nuhu Daudu, called for peace in the area, adding : “we urge the Egbura and Bassa communities to see reasons why God has created them to stay together”.
Daudu restated the council’s commitment to key into peace processes in place and other good policies and programmes that would improve on the standard of living of the people of the area.(NAN)
