Nine persons have been killed in Bassa local government council in Kogi State as a result of communal clashes between Bassa Komu and Ebira Mozum.
Tribune Online reliably gathered on Friday that the crisis is between Bassa Komu and the people of Ebira Mozum.
According to sources, the attack between the two communities was a result of the gruesome killing of a palm wine tapper and another farmer on Monday.
The sources added it was a reprisal attack following the killing of the palm wine tapper and another farmer last Monday, stressing that the attack was carried out on Thursday night which left nine persons killed in both communities.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has called for calm among the Ebira Mozum and Bassa Komu ethnic groups in the Bassa Local Government Area of the state following the recent outbreak of the crisis in the area.
The governor, in a statement issued on Friday by his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, expressed concern over the incident, assuring that the government was on top of the matter.
Governor Bello assured the people of Bassa that the government had received intelligence information on the situation and vowed that those masterminding the unfortunate ethnic crisis in the area will surely face the full wrath of the law.
The statement noted that following the gruesome killing of a palm wine tapper and another farmer on Monday, the government acted swiftly and ensured the deployment of security agencies made up of the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy with three gunboats, the DSS, the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and local vigilantes to restore peace both on land and sea in the area.
The statement disclosed that some leaders on both sides have been invited to provide the government with what they know about the crisis warning that the crisis in Bassa Local Government Area must come to an end.
The Governor expressed his condolences to the family of nine persons that have lost their lives in the crisis, praying for God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss of their loved ones.
