Toto monarch urges govt to arrest, prosecute communal crisis masterminds

A traditional ruler in Toto local government area of Nasarawa state, Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, has advised the state government to arrest and prosecute the sponsors and masterminds of Egbura and Bassa communal crisis in order to avoid reoccurrence.
Abdullahi, the Ohimege Opanda and Chairman, Toto Traditional Council of Toto local government area, made the call yesterday in his palace in Umaisha while addressing newsmen on the circumstances surrounding the Egbura and Bassa communal crisis in the area.
He said that arresting the masterminds of the communal crisis would not only forestall its reoccurrence but would also serve as deterrents to others who do not wish the area well.
The monarch lamented the loss of lives, the destruction of property worth millions of naira and called on the state government to “redesign its security network to help in apprehending and prosecuting the perpetrators of the devilish acts.” “In the last two months, the communities in Toto local government area have been thrown into state of unrest with people living in absolute fear of attacks while many villages have been deserted.
Houses were burnt to ashes and many lives have been lost, many people were displaced due to the skirmishes between Egbura and Bassa communities,” he said.
He commended Governor Umaru Al-Makura for his “timely deployment of soldiers and other security operatives to the area,” adding that the gesture had helped in “curtailing the ugly situation.” Abdullahi said the crisis was escalated from neigbouring Kogi state, urging the warring parties to sheathe their swords and co-exist peacefully.
On his part, the chairman of Toto local government, Prince Nuhu Adamu Dauda, also called on the warring parties to co-exist peacefully and be their brothers’ keepers in the interest of development of the area and the state.