Gunmen kill father, son in Kogi over fish pond

Peace seems to have returned to Iyamu, a remote community in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi
State, after the feud that left at least four persons dead.
There are divergent opinions about what triggered the crisis.  The two groups  involved in the battle continued to link the incident to different things.  One said it was a political battle; the other  said it was a dispute over a fish pond.
Though Ibaji people are traditionally warriors, they are known for their unity when they are confronting a common cause. Their battles have always been with external aggressors.
Not long ago, it was the Ibaji people who confronted the Aguleri people in Anambra State during the battle for the oil-rich border location. That is why concerns were raised when they now carried arms against each other; especially during an election period.
Iyano is made up of three clans: Aluaja, Iruh and Itale. Though there has been a lingering crisis between Iyano and another community, Achechule, the recent crisis is between Aluaja and Iruh.
Representatives of Aluaja addressed journalists in Lokoja, Kogi State capital over the crisis, alleging the clan had been the target of attacks which started days after the March 28 presidential election.
Thomas Ejima, who spoke on behalf of the representatives, said the crisis was being fuelled by one of the state governor’s aides from Iruh. He said  the aide had been sponsoring an armed gang called the Abuchaga Boys which had been attacking his people.
Ejima said the governor’s aide promised to deal with the people of Aluaja immediately his party, PDP, lost the election in the area to the opposition party which he (Ejima) championed. “Exactly six days after the election, his (Achuba) boys (the Abuchaga Boys) entered the community and unleashed terror which left two of my clan people dead”, he stated.
Ejima refused to accept the claim of land dispute for the crisis, saying the land dispute in the community had been with another community and wondered why the governor’s aide who hails from the same community with him could give the crisis land dispute colouration.
He said the first attack on his people was in 2013, saying it was carried out by Abuchaga boys.
He added that in April last year, the same boys attacked his people again and killed one Emmanuel Ameh, which prompted them to report to the police at Onyedega (headquarters of the LGA) and Lokoja, pointing out that the case was still pending when the latest attack on the community took place on April 3.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the dispute over fish pond has been on for sometime, but it attained a new level during the election because the two clans where also divided along political parties lines.
Ejima said the effort of the Ibaji Development Union, IDU, to settle the dispute was aborted when the Abuchaga Boys ambushed it’s team on its way to a peace meeting. The Aluaja spokesperson said his community’s decision to cry out was because the governor’s aide had vowed to continue the attack on him and his people because his party lost the area during the election.  According to him, all complaints they made to the police and other security agencies in Kogi and Abuja had not received attention. He called on government to intervene.
The governor’s aide, when contacted, described Ejima’s allegation as lies.  While confirming there was a communal clash, he  however said it was the same Ejima and his people that were fuelling crisis in Iyano.
According to him, it was the Aluaja people who first attacked the farm land and produce of other clan members who retaliated, “If you destroy somebody’s farm which is the source of living throughout the year what do you expect?”.
He denied sponsoring any armed group or having hand in the crisis. “It is not true. Ignore them. I didn’t play any role. It was the Aluaja people who destroyed the Iruh peoples yams. The crisis is not related to politics”, the aide stated.
The police are also blaming the Iyano crisis on land dispute refusing to admit it is a political crisis. Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, ASP Sola Adebayo, confirmed that the crisis was related to fish farming.
This, according to him, led to the attack on Aluaja people by the Achechule people and the killing of one person on April 3, but the state Commissioner of Police deployed Mobile Police, State Criminal Investigation Department and CTU to restore law and order in the area.
The PPRO dismissed the claim that the police was favouring any of the clans in the trouble, saying investigation was ongoing. He also said the attack of April 6 occurred in Inene and not Iyano, and should not be linked with the raging battle. Speaking on the Irene incident, Adebayo said one Paul Egwemi and his children were working in their farm when some gunmen came and started shooting. Paul and one son Raymond, were killed while the other son Godfrey escaped and reported to the police in Lokoja. He said Godfrey did not mention any link between the gun shots and the two clans fighting over land.
“Police are still investigating the killing of the two people. The police are not in support of any of the parties involved. This is a political season, politicians from both parties have been pointing accusing fingers at each other without evidence. When such report are made, the police follow laid down procedure”.