Four people have been injured in a clash over a land between two communities in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
A house in Njoboli, where the clash took place, was razed by the people of neighbouring Njoboliyo who launched the attack, a source said.
The source accused the people of Njoboliyo for taking a fight to Njoboli over a lingering land dispute between the two communities.
“The people stormed our community and immediately razed down a house while injuring two members of a family. The people of Njoboli quickly mobilized forces and countered the attackers,” the source said, adding, “Police later came to patrol the area but after a little while they departed, leaving us amidst anxiety and fear of another night attack. We remained awake and vigilant all night for the fear of night raid. The attackers came back Monday morning, but we sturdily guarded our neighborhood.”
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Reacting to the incident on Tuesday, the Adamawa State Government clarified that two people on either side were injured but appealed for calm, as that the crisis “was neither ethnic nor religious but a misunderstanding between two otherwise friendly neighbors which went but is now under control.”
The Director General, Media and Communications, Solomon Kumanga, said, “What happened was a boundary dispute between the people of Njoboli and those of Njoboliyo in Yola South.
These are people who have lived harmoniously for ages. They are neighbours who have inter-married between them. It was just a little misunderstanding that went awry. Four people, two from each community, sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and they are receiving treatment in various hospitals within the state capital.”
He advised journalists to exercise modesty and stick to the truth in their writing, saying, “The crisis has no religious colouration. It is not a clash between Fulani and the local community. It is just a misunderstanding between people who have long co-existed peacefully. We should not even appropriate faults in this matter.”
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