Four killed, 10 houses burnt as Muslims, Christians clash in Plateau

• Police, family deny Pa Dariye’s rumoured rescue

• Security agency, politicians sign peace pact

NO fewer that four people were killed and 10 houses burnt as Christians and Muslims clashed at Babale in Jos North local council of Plateau State. 

   The peace of the area was disrupted on Tuesday when a car, reportedly trying to avoid a ditch, ran into a motorcycle and killed its rider and passenger and further leading the mayhem that lasted till yesterday.

   In another vein, the Nigeria Police and the Dariye family have said there was no meaningful development yet on the abduction of Pa Dafwang Dariye since last weekend. Rumours of his rescue had filtered in on Monday, prompting jubilation in the family house. 

   According to the story, Wamba villagers saw an old man in the bush settlement and concluded that it was the kidnapped person, so they reported to their traditional ruler, who immediately contacted the Dariye family. However, a member of the family said there was nothing yet on ground.

   When the Police Public Relations Officer was also contacted, he told The Guardian that there had not been any positive development since the abduction. 

   The Guardian learnt that the driver of the car, one Samsudeen Mohammad Umar, was over-speeding on the Jos-Bauchi Road when he suddenly noticed the ditch by the roadside, close to a church, and trying to avoid it, he knocked down the motorcycle with its two passengers, who were Christians and residents of the village. 

   Rushing to the scene, some villagers insisted that the barrier, which was dug by the church as a safety measure to force drivers to slow down, must be covered up, having also caused accidents in the past.

   However, Christians, especially members of the church, insisted that the ditch must remain. This led to the clash between Christians and Muslims, who eventually took up arms and within two hours, no fewer than 10 houses have been torched and two more people killed. 

   The Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Abuh Emmanuel, confirmed the story and blamed the youth for the rampage, adding that two persons have been arrested over the incident while investigation was ongoing.

   Meanwhile, the leadership and candidates of political parties in the state yesterday promised to work for crisis-free elections. The pledge followed a peace pact they signed in Jos at a ceremony organized by the state police command and attended by candidates of the different political parties and representatives of government. 

   The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Disu Nasiru Oki, said he called the meeting of political stakeholders to agree on peaceful elections and to assure them that the police were ready to effectively secure the state during the elections.

   Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Simon Lalong, was optimistic that the elections would be peaceful, while Samuel Tangni, who represented the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gyang Pwajok, said that campaigns had been peaceful and that he was hopeful the elections would be similarly peaceful.

   Likewise, the immediate past Attorney-General of the state PDP House of Representatives candidate for Jos South/ East, Edward Pwajok, said he would work with other candidates to ensure that maintenance of peace is easy for security agencies.