The Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has suspended the caretaker chairman of Misau Local Government Area, Yaro Gwaram, his deputy, Baidu Kafin-Misau and council secretary, Usman Abdu.
The government also set up a 13-man panel to investigate cause of a communal clash on Monday between Fulani farmers and Fulani herders at Zadawa village in Misau.
Governor Mohammed made these known while addressing journalists shortly after an emergency security meeting he chaired at the Council Chamber, Government House Bauchi.
The 13-man panel, according to the governor, is to be headed by Air Commodore Tijjani Baba Gamawa and is expected to submit its report within three weeks.
The timely setting up of the panel, Mohammed stated, was to enable the state government to avert a recurrence of such incident in any part of the state.
The governor stated that the government decided to suspend the caretaker chairman of Misau LGA and the other officials following their failure to control the situation that led to the loss of lives.
He, however, announced the appointment of Isah Kufai, a former chairman of Toro LGA, as the sole administrator of the local government.
“After we discussed extensively with all the stakeholders on the current happenings in Misau Local Government Area where we had some clashes, which resulted in the loss of 10 lives and many injuries, we agreed to look at the situation to avert its reoccurrence.
“Based on the information at our disposal, we have taken measures to control this very ugly situation.
“We have decided to suspend the chairman, his deputy and the secretary pending the outcome of the investigation panel,” Governor Mohammed said.
He informed that he has directed the state Commissioner of Police to mobilise a mobile police unit in Misau alongside personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in order to provide security in the affected area.
The governor called on the people of the area to be law-abiding, assuring that anyone found culpable in the clash will face the full wrath of the law.
He, therefore, on behalf of the government and people of Bauchi State commiserated with those who lost their loved ones in the clash.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST gathered during a visit to Zadawa village on Wednesday that the clash erupted over the sale of grazing land in the area.
It was gathered that the whole thing came to a head-on Monday when Fulani herdsmen got wind of a move by some Fulani farmers to sell part of the land again and rushed there to try and stop the sale.
DAILY POST learnt that the refusal by the farmers to stop the sale led to a fight between the two groups, which eventually led to the death of 10 persons with many people sustaining varying degrees of injury in the clash.
A former Chairman of Misau LGA, Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri, confirmed the death of 10 people in the clash, adding that, “for about two days now, we are taking injured people to hospital.”
A member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly representing the area, Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo, also confirmed the incident to DAILY POST.
He, however, called on the state government to immediately intervene by stopping the sale of the grazing land to enable the herders to graze their animal there.
