Billiri protest: Police urge communities to seek redress through lawful means

The Police Command in Gombe state on Sunday, admonished aggrieved communities in the state to follow lawful means in seeking redress rather than taking the laws into their hands.
The call, contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Mary Malum, is sequel to the barrication of the Gombe to Yola highway for five hours by some women in Billiri town of the state on Friday.
The women were protesting the death of their kinsman on Thursday in a dispute over farmland with neighboring community in Shongom LocalGovernment Area.
The command said the state needed peace for development to take place and therefore urged paramount rulers in the affected communities to prevail on their people to keep the peace.
The command lamented that the age-long historical rivalry amongst communities in Billiri, Kaltungo and Shongom Local Government areas had been causing breach of the peace.
It said the the conflict that occurred on Thursday over farmland resulted in the death of one David Stephen in Kufai village of Billiri Local Government Area, triggering the protest by women who blocked the Gombe to Yola highway that passes through their town.
The command said with the timely intervention of security agents, normalcy was restored.
It said arrests had been made and weapons recovered, adding that the suspects are being profiled, pending further investigations.