34 Killed As Ethnic Crisis Involving Ombatse Cult Hit Nasarawa

Clashes between rival tribes in Nasarawa State have left at least 34 people dead with homes and barns torched in a village in the state. The violence erupted on Saturday when a militia from the Eggon tribe attacked the Gwandara village of Egan following a dispute over farmland, said Nasarawa State spokesman, Sani Musa Mairiga. “All the victims were from Gwandara tribe whose village came under sudden attack from Ombatse cult members from Eggon tribe,” Mairiga said. “So far 34 people have been killed in the violence with several others injured,” AFP quoted the spokesman as stating. A farming dispute in which an Eggon man was injured was said to have caused the clash in which several homes and barns were burnt in the attack. According to Mairiga, it took the intervention of fully armed policemen deployed to the area to stop the bloodshed. The Northern part of Nigeria has witnessed extreme violence in recent times, with Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and now the Ombatse cult group the usual suspects.