JOS – A peace forum convened by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Jos has urged warring Fulani and Maughavul youths in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau to embrace peace.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that law and order broke down in the council on Tuesday following the discovery of a headless body believed to be that of a Maughavul indigene.
This had pitched Maughavul youths against their Fulani neighbours who they accused of being behind the incident.
But at a stakeholders meeting convened by NOA on Friday, leaders of both ethnic groups in attendance sued for peace.
The NOA Director, Mr Bulus Dabit, who read the resolution of the forum, said that the leaders had decided to embrace dialogue in resolving the issue.
“The two groups regretted the crisis noting that they have lived together in peace for hundreds of years and blaming the incident on criminal elements among them.
“They promised to dialogue among themselves to resolve issues in contest and also to invite security agencies into the matter to fish out and punish the bad elements, “ he said.
In the resolution, the leaders called on the warring youths to lay down their arms and live in peace with one another.
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In an interview with NAN, the spokesman of Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Salim Umar, urged the youths to embrace dialogue, saying there was no alternative to peace.
Similarly, the spokesman for Maughavul ethnic group, Dr Stephen Hirse, pleaded with the youths to promote peace in the area.
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“It is a legacy that our parents left with us for which we are accountable, “ he said.
NAN recalls that Emmanuel Abuh, the police spokesman in the state, had confirmed that unknown gunmen attacked Kantoma village at about 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
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Abuh said the gunmen beheaded a villager and carried the head of the deceased away.
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He, however, said that a detachment of mobile police men had been drafted to restore normalcy in the area while investigation had started on the incident. (NAN)