Baba Alakyo, the spiritual leader of the
Ombatse, an Eggon group, was feared killed
alongside the village head in an early
morning raid on Alakyo, near Lafia,
Nasarawa State yesterday.. Alakyo is the
village where about 74 security operatives
were ambushed and killed on May 7, 2013.
It was burnt down along with other Eggon
settlements of Fadaman Bauna and Akura,
displaced persons said. Scores were said to
have been killed.
The invasion happened barely a day after
Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura led a
peace walk round Lafia, the state capital in
celebration of his 62nd birthday.
Barrister Zachary Zamani Allumaga, Legal
Adviser of the Ombatse group which has
been proscribed by the state government,
said information available to him showed
that Baba Alakyo and the village head of
Alakyo were killed in the raid which he
blamed on the Fulani. He however later
sent a text message to say the information
on the killing of Baba Alakyo may have been
cooked by "those who don't mean well for
peace".
He said Fulani gunmen stormed Alakyo
from four directions, killed scores and burnt
property.
Villagers said the raid was carried out at
about 5:30am, taking the villagers by
surprise. It was difficult to locate any
source within the village, but persons
displaced from neighbouring settlements
said that heavy and sustained gunfire was
heard at dawn in the village.
They said a large band of militia group
suspected to be members of the Ombatse
tried to enter Alakyo to save the settlement
but went late as it had already been taken
by the Fulani militia. They said the Fulani
militia also burned down four brand new
Toyota Hilux vans. The militia was said to
have also entered Fadaman Bauna and
Akura, two other Eggon settlements and
raided them, killing dozens. An Eggon leader
who hails from Akura said on phone that he
narrowly escaped death, calling it genocide
against his tribe.
He said: "From the information we have
received, Baba Alakyo was killed".
Allumaga, the Ombatse leader, alleged that
the Fulani came from Wamba, a
neighbouring local government area.
Hussaini Mohammed, the state secretary of
the Miyetti Allah, a Fulani group, denied that
Fulani people were on genocide against the
Eggon people, just as he denied knowledge
of any invasion by his tribesmen.
The state's Head of Service, Dr. Dominic
Bako, escaped death when he ran into a
road block mounted by gunmen along the
Lafia-Akwanga road during the bloody
violence. Bako was shot on his left arm and
was rushed to Lafia where he was treated
at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital. He
could not identify the gunmen, but said they
were in a large number and had gathered
along the road.
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