Death toll rises to 13 after Adamawa communal clash

The security agencies have initiated a campaign to promote peace among two warring ethnic groups in the Lamurde Local Government of Adamawa State.

Thirteen people have been confirmed dead after violent clashes between the Tsobo and the Wadaku in Bashaka, Sabonlaye, Gundili, Wami, Suwa and Bachama .

In July, the state government imposed a curfew after the clash over farmlands in which10 people were initially confirmed killed..

To calm tension in the communities, the police and other security agencies have urged the disputants to dialogue for peace.

How death toll rose

The curfew, initially imposed from dusk to dawn but later relaxed to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., was still in force as of Sunday morning.

However, it was under that curfew that the Tsobo people said they had discovered more bodies of their missing members by a riverside.

“The Tsobo people claimed that four of theirs were missing and demanded our community to produce their bodies. Later we heard they discovered three bodies,” said Lofty Timothy of the Waduku ethnic group who resides in Lamurde town.

He claimed that the Tsobo were attacking Wadaku people living among them.

“They are not respecting the curfew. They are attacking and demolishing the houses of our people living with them,” Mr Timothy added, while accusing the police of compromise for allowing some people to break the curfew.

In a video seen by this reporter, a young man, described as Luka Elisha and the youth leader of the Tsobo people, is demanding the release of their missing people, dead or alive. Mr Elisha is standing before a police station surrounded by police officers and soldiers.

“On behalf of the leaders of our community, we demand police and other security agencies to bring back our people, dead or alive,” Mr Elisha said in the Hausa language while appealing to his people to be patient with the security agencies.

“Be patient. I want to assure you that even if they are dead, it is going to be the last death in our community,” he added.

Call for dialogue

The police and other security agencies have visited the Tsobo and Waduku people in their respective communities to encourage dialogue among the groups.

According to a statement shared on Facebook by Suleiman Yahaya, the spokesperson of the police in Adamawa, the Commissioner of Police, Dankombo Morris, alongside commanders of sister security agencies, took part in the visits.

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Mr Yahaya said the initiative, “Confidence Building Patrol,” was aimed at restoring peace among the Tsobo and Waduku people.

“The CP engaged the community members in a peace talk to restore peace, order, and prevent further violence.

“He advised all individuals involved to desist from any act capable of breaching public peace, stressing that anyone found instigating violence will face the full weight of the law,” Yahaya said.

Meanwhile, the state government has also established a peace and conflict resolution commission to promote the peace process.