JUST IN:5 killed, others injured; animals rustled, houses, shops razed in farmers/herders clash in state
Minna-Five persons are feared dead during a clash between farmers and herders in Barskuta village of Bosso local government area of Niger state.
Besides those feared dead, several others were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries and are receiving medications in different health centres in Minna, the state capital.
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Our Correspondent also gathered that many domestic animals were also killed while many were also stolen during the fracas.
The clash also ended leaving some houses and shops completely razed down within the community.
The violence it was gathered started as a result of the killing of one Alhaji Sule Mohammed by suspected herders on his farm and his corpse dumped in a shallow stream close to the farm.
The deceased had earlier complained about the invasion of his farm eventually destroyed by some cattle belonging to yet to be yet-to-be-identified Herder.
Relatives of the deceased after waiting endlessly for his return back home traced him to his farm only to meet his lifeless body in the stream.
An alarm was subsequently raised in the village over the sudden and gruesome murder of the farmer and the villagers mobilized to the settlement of the herders for a reprisal attack which led to the death and others ending up with injuries.
Dangerous weapons like daggers, daggers, sticks among others were said to have been freely used during the attack which was said to have spread to Beji town.
This led to the directive for the closedown of the weekly Wednesday market in Beji town yesterday to forestall further loss of lives and property.
The state government had already despatched armed policemen and soldiers to the troubled areas to keep peace.
However, many of the villagers within the affected community have fled the area in fear of a reprisal attack by the herders. An impeccable source from Beji town who wanted anonymity confirmed the incident and the number of persons killed.
The Police Public Relations Officer Niger State Police Command Superintendent of Police Wasiu Abiodun in a statement yesterday also confirmed the incident but did not confirm the number of those dead.
The Statement reads,”On 27/08/2024 at about 0700hrs, report received indicated that one Alh. Sule Moh’d of Barkuta Village, Bosso LGA went to his farm with his son and sighted some cattle in the farm and he instructed his son to go home while he traced for the owner of the cattle.
“The Alh. Moh’d didn’t return home which necessitated his family to search for him and unfortunately, he was found dead in a river within the area suspected to have been killed by a yet to be identified person.
“Consequently, this led to a little inter-tribal attack in the area and few persons lost their lives. However, the Area Commander Bosso ACP Galadima Lassa led Police tactical teams including DPO Maikunkele to the area and normalcy has been restored while monitoring continues and efforts to arrest the perpetrators of crime is ongoing, as investigation into the unfortunate incident has commenced,” the statement concluded.
Top government officials are said to have visited Barakuta village for on the spot assessment but yet to issue an official statement as at going to Press.
