60 killed in battle over fish pond

No fewer than 60 persons were feared killed at the weekend in a bloody communal crisis between Ologba and Egba communities of

Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the latest crisis which left many with varying degrees of injury was a fallout of a lingering dispute between the fishing communities over the ownership of a fishing pond in the area.

The latest crisis between the sister villages came on the heels of last month’s outrageous conflict in Egba community which claimed close to 100 lives when suspected Fulani herdsmen invaded the community.

According to our source, “the truth is that there is no love lost between the two communities whose preoccupation is mainly fishing.

“Unfortunately, the bitter rivalry between the communities and bottled-up anger for one another has lingered for several years and sometimes resulting in intermittent skirmishes; this latest conflict could have claimed over 60 lives because more bodies are still being recovered from the two communities.

“As I speak to you today, (Saturday) the Egba people attacked Ologba during a funeral procession early this morning, after the Friday attack, just when the people were trying to bury their dead. So many people were killed in that attack and more bodies are still being recovered from the scene so we expect the causality figure to rise.”