One killed, other wounded as communities clash in Bayelsa
At least one person was killed and another injured in a communal clash between Akenfa and Agudama-Epie in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
In the melee that ensued Friday, a 38-year-old Emomotimi Warri, an Ijaw man from Southern Ijaw, living in Agudama-Epie was murdered, while another Ijaw man, Miedibo Ekpuke, 33, was severely injured.
The Nation learnt that during the clash, youths from both communities engaged in a fierce free-for-all, using machetes and other weapons.
A source who preferred to be anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the clash bordered on an unresolved land dispute between the Agudama-Epie and Akenfa communities.
The source said the land dispute between the two neighbouring had been lingering, noting that Governor Douye Diri recently had a reconciliation meeting with both communities.
He said the Wednesday’s clash was a bit complicated, alleging that the clash was hijacked by cult groups.
It was gathered that another thing that led to clash was the arrest of the Agudama-Epie youths’ President who is still held in detention.
Another community source, who also did not want to be mentioned, said the arrest and detention of the unnamed youths’ president was tied to the land matter, a situation that allegedly provoked community members, particularly the youth, to stage a protest that led to the communal clash.
He also said another trigger of the clash was the alleged attack on the Ijaw people living in Agudama by youths of Akenfa.
“The Ijaw people living in Agudama-Epie are not happy that they have become target of attacks even when they are not indigenes of Agudama-Epie hence the clash on Wednesday,” the source claimed.
The Bayelsa State Police Command confirmed the incident yesterday.
Spokesman for the command, Asinim Butswat, said during the communal clash which occured on Wednesday, one Emomotimi Warri was killed while Miedibo Ekpuke was injured.
He, however, said Ekpuke was responding to treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Yenagoa.
Butswat, a Superintendent of Police, stated: “The clash from the brief I received was as a result of land dispute between the Akenfa and Agudama-Epie communities, both in Yenagoa LGA.
“During the clash, one Emomotimi Warri was killed while Miedibo Ekpuke was injured. The injured was taken to the hospital where he is responding to treatment.”
He said the command had deployed policemen to the communities to forestall any breakdown of law and order.