The two ruling houses in Somji namely Neha and Ne’es have been in a legal battle for over 3 decades over the stool of the village head of Somji. This long legal battle was finally settled at the Supreme Court in May 2015 in favour of Neha house to produces a new village Head.
Consequently, the State Min. for Local Government and Chieftaincy affairs authorized a fresh selection of a new village head exclusively from Neha Family. This produced Nde Lar Yilbuk who was subsequently given appointment letter as the village head with effect from Nov. 2015.
Meanwhile, the deposed village head of Ne’es extraction Nde Goyang Kayili with the tacit support of his clan refused to vacate the palace and continue to perform traditional rites of a village head even after his dethronement in 2004.
To compound issues further, one Moses Tenpi of Neha house laid claim to the throne without being selected since 2005 while the case was still at the Supreme Court.
The conducts of these two have been reported severally to the Local Government Authorities to no avail.
A third group which constitute of the council of advisers to the dethroned village head had made outrageous demands on Neha house before they could release certain cultural artifacts in their care for a successful coronation of a new village head. Items demanded by this group include a virgin girl, two horses, seven cows, sheep and other items which they claim is for the purification of Neha clan before ascending the throne. To this, the Neha clan objected vehemently because it was not a condition stated in the judgment.
This was the situation when the Neha clan planned for the coronation of Nde Lar Yilibuk for 12th March, 2016. The Care taker Committee Chairman of Kanke L. G. C. put off this event citing complains from these groups as reasons for the cancellation.
Consequently, the Min. for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs conducted series of meetings with the various groups and the contending issues were resolved.
This led to a fresh approval for the coronation to be jointly fixed by the Local Government and Neha Family thereby arriving at 8th August, 2016.
A few days to the occasion, the Chairman kept on bringing one complain or the other. He even suggested that the consent of the Member, Plateau House of Assembly representing Kanke must be sort by Neha before the coronation. To this, the Neha House objected because the said Member is an interested party being the direct nephew of the deposed village head. He kept advancing other reasons until he finally put off the coronation on the last working day before 8th August, when he informed one Daniel Gokum a member of Neha Family of his decision.
Meanwhile several members of the family stated arriving from far and near for the occasion. In the morning of 8th August, Mr. Daniel was briefing those who had arrived of yet another cancellation by the coronation by the chairman and the impossibility of the coronation that day as all parties to perform the act have been stopped. While this was going on in Daniel’s house, a mob was being organized by the three groups mentioned earlier.
This mob dug trenches and mount road blocks along all roads that lead in and out of Somji village to prevent visitors and Neha members from coming in or going out of the village.
At about 10:00am, the mob encircled Daniel compound, destroying farms, vehicles and setting the House ablaze.
Two members of the family namely Goladi Gotau and Joel Yilbuk were macheted to death while several others were wounded, some of bullet and arrow wounds.
At the onset of these hostilities, the council Chairman was contacted on phone with a distress call but he only made excuses that the family defied his orders not to carry out coronation that is why they are being attacked. Several other calls on him yielded no result until at about 4:00Pm when the DPO of Kanke arrived with a team of security men. When this team arrived, they only took photographs of the house and left without making any arrests or removing the injured but left them in their pool of blood. Neither did they help those trapped within the house to safety nor secure the house.
This to us is the peak of unprofessionalism or a deliberate resolution to have us eliminated.
The early departure of the police encouraged the return of the mob to finish up the job but fortunately, many members of the family had escaped to the bushes.
They pulled down what was left of the house after looting the properties within.
Three days after, the lifeless body of a member of the family, one Gobit Golou was found hanging in his compound. There after four arrests were made by the police but three were released on reasons best known to them. On the return of these people another member of the family one Mr. Doctor Gotau was again murdered in his home. This bring to four the total numbers of people killed with very little effort made by those in position to help checkmate the spade of killings.
It is now four weeks since thin development but the council Chairman has not visited the scene nor sends any condolence to the family let alone any relief to the displaced. The same can be said of the house of Assembly Members Hon. Jacob Kassem who is a Son of the Village. The police have not made enough arrest of some key leaders of the mob who were identified and reported to them. These people still walk the streets of Somji Village unchallenged.
In the incident report and letter of complaint to the Local Government, the Neha clan requested for a Commission of Enquiry into the crises so as to unravel the truth and bring to book all those whose action (s) or inactions are responsible for this occurrence and also stamp the tide of killings on law abiding members of Neha Royal Family of Somji village. This too has not been responded to by the Government.
