Ombatse: 534 killed in 10 months, says panel

Retired Justice Joseph Gbadeyan, chairman of the commission which sat for four months in 2013, submitted the report to Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura in Government House, Lafia. The commission members drove to Government House barely 30 minutes after the High Court I sitting in Lafia struck out the case filed their by members of Ombatse, an Eggon group widely accused of the Alakyo murder. The presiding judge, Justice Umaru Dikko, who is also the state Chief Judge struck out the case on grounds that the group had no locus standi to sue and be sued because they are not a registered body. 
Ombatse, had in November, last year, just as the commission of inquiry was winding up public hearing into the Alakyo murder, dragged Governor Al-Makura to court, and followed up with a petition insisting that their case was at the risk of suffering injustice from a judge previously assigned the matter. The group’s Legal Adviser, Zamani Zachary Allumaga went to court on behalf of himself and members of Ombatse, and sought N500 million in damages against the state government, over the ban proscribed them on November of 2012.
Presenting the report, panel chairman, Justice Gbadeyan said the casualties include the members of the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) while 143 others were allegedly killed, for which no evidence was availed the commission. Gbadeyan said the commission’s assessment also revealed that property worth over N2. 3 billion were destroyed during the crises, while 40 persons sustained various degrees of injury.
Receiving the six-volume report, Governor Al-Makura thanked the commission for a job well-done and assured that the report would be expeditiously studied with a view to bring out a white paper for immediate implementation.