The Nation Newspaper

Tag: farmers/herdsmen clash

  • Four dead in Ebonyi farmers/herdsmen clash

    Four persons reportedly died in Igbeagu Community, Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, following a farmers/herdsmen clash yesetrday.

    Police spokesman Loveth Odah, who confirmed this, said two herdsmen attacked a villager feeding his cattle in the bush and cut off his hands.

    “As they attacked him, he managed to raise an alarm and more villagers came to his rescue,” she said.

    According to her, the herdsmen also attacked the villagers, who came to their brother’s rescue, cutting about three of them with machete.

    But the villagers caught them and beat them up, before handing them over to military men in the community.

    The injured were rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA). Two later died.

    Odah added: “One of the herdsmen later died as he was being rushed to the hospital, making it four deaths.”

     

  • 37 feared dead in fresh farmers/herdsmen clash

    Thirty-seven persons are feared dead in a fresh clash between farmers and herdsmen in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    It was gathered that violence erupted between farmers and herdsmen on Sunday, when some Fulani youths went to a village at Ungwan Uka, to avenge the death of one of them who was allegedly killed by some Kadara youths on a farm at Banono village.

    An eyewitness, Salisu Mohammed, said after the attack, some security agents were drafted to the communities and things calmed down but as soon as they left, Kadara youths launched another attack on the surrounding Fulani settlement and killed about 10 persons.

    “These are the ones whose bodies have been recovered. As I speak now, we don’t know the actual number of casualties as our people are scattered all over, running for their life,” he said.

    Mohammed, who said the victims were buried in a mass grave, added that they got information to prepare for the burial of another nine at the burial site.

    A Kadara youth, who pleaded for anonymity, said the youths have been restive following the attacks, but said their elders are trying to calm the restive youths.

    He said: “We’ve been hearing of several attacks but when I called people in some of the communities, they said the news is false. But about 10 persons, including a seven-month-old baby, died in the attack.

    Police spokesman Yakubu Sabo said the police knows of a misunderstanding between some individuals in the community, which led to a clash when some people took laws into their hands.

    He said the police and Army have, however,  controlled the situation.

  • Farmers/Herdsmen clashes: Former DIG wants FG to check proliferation of small arms

    A Former Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Mr Azubuko Udah, has called on the Federal Government to check the proliferation of small arms in order to check incessant Farmers/Herdsmen clashes in the country.

    Udah made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    “The herdsmen we used to know carrying sticks are now armed with AK 47 rifles, like the problem in Benue, the farmers are also armed,”he said.

    He called on the Federal Government to strengthen the implementation of laws guiding proliferation of arms in the country.

    The former police officer said that the situation was escalating because of the easy access both groups have to arms.

    Udah also said that a situation where culprits arrested were set free would continue to fuel the crisis.

    He said that it was the responsibility of the government to control the proliferation of small arms by manning its borders.

    He said that it was only in the sub-region that herdsmen still go about with their cattle, adding that ranching was the modern practice globally.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Benue and Ekiti governments recently enacted laws to check activities of herdsmen in their respective states.

  • 15 killed in farmers/herdsmen clash in Taraba

    A violent clash between farmers and cattle rearers in Ussa and Takum Council areas of Taraba has left at least 15 people dead while several others sustained various degrees of injuries.
    Alhaji Sahabi Mahmoud, the state Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in Taraba and David Misal (ASP), the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state Police Command confirmed the incident.
    However, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while Sahabi said at least 15 of his members have been killed and buried in Takum on Friday, Misal said that the police could only confirm five deaths as at the time of filing this report.
    Sahabi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo yesterday, also expressed fear that more corpses of his members might be in the bush as more than 150 of them were still missing.
    He claimed that hundreds of livestock belonging to the herdsmen were wandering in bush as their owners could not be traced.
    He called on the security agencies and the state government to come to the aid of hundreds of other cattle breeders, who he said were trapped in the forests of Ussa and Takum to get out alive with their animals.
    The PPRO told NAN in Jalingo the Commissioner of PoliceYakubuBabas has relocated to Takum to ensure that the crisis was brought under control.