A banker and two of his siblings are among the latest casualties of the renewed violence which has engulfed the restive town of Okene, the headquarters of Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State.

No fewer than six people have been killed and four policemen injured in the renewed crisis.

Reports say the latest crisis came only a few days after a peace committee was constituted to find a lasting solution to the unending crises rocking the area.

An eyewitness told the Nigerian Newsday that the crisis began when supporters of two rival political parties clashed, leading to the killing of the six people.

The source added that the injured policemen were ambushed by the thugs, adding that the policemen were in mufti and their attackers mistook them for members of the opposition group.

Meanwhile, sequel to the outbreak of the latest crisis in Okene, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Okene, Mr. Edward Andishie, has been posted out of the area.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Onum Inalegwu, said that four policemen were injured and were being treated at the General Hospital, Okene.

He, however, denied reports linking the posting of the Divisional Police Officer of the area to the crisis, stating that the posting of the DPO was normal as five DPOs were said to have been posted out of their stations.

In a related development, the Kogi State Government has inaugurated a sub-committee on the crisis between Ogu and Omoye clans in Okene Local Government Area of the state. The sub-committee, comprising members of the Ogu and Omoye clan, was established to complement the work of the main committee on the crisis which the state government set up last week.

The deputy governor, Mr. Phillips Salawu, said while inaugurating the sub-committee in Lokoja that the government was determined to see to the end of the various crises bedeviling the central senatorial district.

Salawu said the assignment of the sub-committee was very important, calling on the members to justify the confidence reposed in them.

In another development, a high powered probe panel has been set up by the state government to look into the circumstances surrounding the missing 14 booklets of Kogi State revenue receipts from the central store of the state’s ministry of finance.

The permanent secretary of the state town planning board, Mr. Joe Alhassan, who disclosed this to Nigerian Newsday, said the fraudsters used the photocopy of the letter headed of his board to collect the receipts booklet in the name of the Adavi area office.

The permanent secretary blamed the inspectorate unit and central store of the ministry of finance for not verifying the letter before issuing the receipts.