From John Adams Minna
At least three persons have been confirmed dead after herders clashed with farmers in Gwada community, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, yesterday.
Two Fulani herders and a farmer believed to be from the majority tribe in the area were among the victims.
According to a source close to Gwada community, trouble started when the farmer, Salihu Adamu, confronted the Fulani herder, Usman Sarki, who invaded his farms with his cattle and destroyed his crops.
Sarki was said to have been angered because the farmer confronted and when the farmer returned to his farm to continue his farming activity, he followed him and matcheted him from behind, leaving him in the pool of his blood
He died shortly after as a result of excessive bleeding from the matchet cut, and this, however, angered his people who trailed the Fulani herder to his settlement, where they attacked and killed him alongside one other person.
In what our source said was a reprisal attack, the Fulani mobilised and invaded a nearby village called Kwali, setting all the houses there on fire, including food barns belonging to the people.
The situation led to a pandemonium in the town as every herder became a target of the angry residents.
Security agents were, however, deployed to the Gwada town, and the situation was temporarily brought under control as of the time of filing this report.
The State Police Command, in a statement by the Public Relation Officer, Wasiu Abiodun in Minna confirmed the incident, saying the command received information from Gwada Division that there was a fracas between a herder and a farmer.
According to him, “Some persons were in the farm at Kwali village via Gwada, while one Usman Sarki reared his cattle into the farm. And in the process of chasing the cattle out of the farm, the said Sarki inflicted a deep machete cut on the head of Salihu Adamu in the farm and he died on the spot.
“As a result of this, some persons from the village mobilised and burnt the nearby Fulani camp and vice versa.
He stressed that the police patrol team of Gwada Division led by the DPO alongside some vigilante members have moved to the scene and normalcy has been restored.
He, however, stated that effort was ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects responsible for