The Taraba Police Command yesterday, said death toll from the crisis between the Fulani and Mambilla ethnic groups in Sardauna Local Government Area of the state had risen from seven to 18.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Yakubu Babas, disclosed this at a press conference in Jalingo.
Babas noted that the police and other security agencies had deployed enough men to the area to ensure protection of lives and property.
He said two persons had so far been arrested in connection with the crisis.
He explained that, “I want to use this medium to warn that nobody is untouchable no matter how highly placed.
“Investigation machinery are already in motion to dig deep and unearth those behind the ungodly acts to book.”
Babas said the remote cause of the crisis was the disagreement between the Fulanis and the Mambillas over land, which the state government had set up a commission of inquiry to look into it.
He, however, added that the immediate cause was a court case among people of the two tribes over the same land issue.
He appealed to the people of the Mambilla Plateau to eschew violence and embrace peace to attract development to the area.
