Ten persons were yesterday killed in a communal clash between the Fulani and the Tiv in Taraba State.
Three people were reported to be missing after the violence, which occurred at Serkin Gudu in Ibi Local Government.
A source said fight began when the body of a Fulani man, who had been declared missing by his relatives, was found in a bush between Serkin Gudu and Dooshima villages.
A Fulani source accused the Tiv of being responsible for the death of their kinsman, whose body was recovered by a soldier posted to the area to quell clashes.
The source said the gory sight of the deceased infuriated the Fulani community, who went for a reprisal, killing nine people.
Police spokesman Joseph Kwaji confirmed the attack.
He said the Tiv were killed in a retaliatory attack by an unidentified Fulani man.
Kwaji said: “The information I have is that a Fulani man was killed when his cows ate crops belonging to a Tiv man.
“An unidentified Fulani man, in a reprisal, killed nine Tiv people.”
He said policemen had been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, while efforts were on to arrest the culprit.
The Chairman of the Tiv Culture and Social Organisation in Ibi, Mkavga Orhembaga, an eyewitness, said among the deceased, eight were Tiv and one was a teacher from Plateau State.
Yesterday’s incident was said to have shocked Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, because it occurred shortly after he inaugurated a committee to ensure the return of displaced persons, particularly the Tiv, to their homes.
The governor directed monarchs to keep watch on their subjects, to avoid a recurrence.