Amid the global devastation caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the Taraba state police command has confirmed the death of at least 19 persons during the recent Shomo and Jole ethnic clashes in Lau Local government area of the state.
At least 24 people have so far been killed in fighting between members of ethnic groups in central Nigeria's Taraba state over ownership of a fishing lake, police said.
The violence broke out on Monday between the Shomo and Jole ethnic groups in Lau district.
Spokesman of the command DSP David Misal, in a text message issued on Tuesday, said that 100 houses were also burnt down during the crisis.
However, a source from the area told our correspondent that 24 persons were killed while several others are still missing.
The source, who spoke in confidence said Marmi fishing pond has been a source of conflict between the two ethnic groups, who are fishermen, for decades now.
Both ethnic groups are allegedly claiming sole ownership of the fishing pond which is a source of livelihood for most of the people in the area and the tussle has led to violent clashes which usually claim lives from both ethnic nationalities, aside the series of court litigations for several decades now.
An elderly man, Mallam Musa Lau, said there was a time when Taraba State Government banned fishing in the disputed pond for a period of 10 years, saying politics influenced the lifting of the ban on fishing in the pond.
Mallam Musa said the state government should be bold enough to initiate a true fact-finding commission to reveal the true owners of the pond and handed it over appropriately.
He said lives will continue to be lost in clashes over the ownership of the pond if the state government fails to take decisive action on the matter.
"Nineteen people were confirmed dead," state police spokesman David Misal told AFP news agency on Wednesday.
"Around 100 houses were burned and several people were also injured."
Misal said long-standing animosity between the neighbouring communities over the lake's ownership had already cost dozens of lives.
He said the government had banned fishing around the lake after unsuccessful attempts at reconciliation by state authorities and the police. "However some miscreants flouted the ban ... leading to the clashes," Misal said.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the clashes in a statement late on Tuesday, expressing sadness at "the resort to violence over disagreements that could be resolved through dialogue".
"These frequent incidents of ethnic and communal violence is a failure of community leadership and the refusal to embrace dialogue as a means of conflict resolution," Buhari said
Communal clashes over land and water rights are common in parts of Nigeria, especially between nomadic herders and farmers in the centre of the country.
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