No fewer than two people have been reported killed and several others injured after some herders and farmers clashed in Minjibir LGA of Kano State.
About 10 villages have also been sacked and farmlands destroyed in the clash.
Witnesses said the incident started at the weekend when herders reportedly released their animals to graze in farms in which crops had yet to be harvested.
A witness claimed that they killed two of the residents when they approached them.
Daily Trust reports that some of the villages attacked were Daurawa, Kuka Bakwai, Geza, Macinawa and Kasakore.
Narrating how the incident happened, a relative of one of the dead victims, Idi Lawan, said his brother, Sunusi Usman, was stabbed to death.
“He went to his farm and found that his beans had been eaten by their animals. When he approached them to complain about it, they stabbed him with an arrow and he died,” Lawan said.
Another victim, who survived the attack with injuries, said they met him at his farm.
“When I saw that their animals were eating my groundnut, I asked them to move away. But they just started stabbing me. Look at my body now,” he said.
Another resident of one of the communities attacked, Basiru Dauda Kunya, told Daily Trust that the attackers had been disturbing the area since last year and that people got tired and decided to take action, which led to a clash on Tuesday.
“People don’t sleep in these villages for long because of fear of attacks on their farms and even their lives.
“The same incident happened last year; we can’t just fold our hands and watch them. Government should come in and rescue the situation before it degenerates further,” he said.
Residents barricaded the road leading to Babura in Jigawa State on Wednesday to protest the development.
Meanwhile, speaking to Daily Trust, the leadership of the Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said the clash was caused because farmers planted along grazing routes.
The National Women Leader of the association, Hajiya Aisha Muhammad, said one of the herdsmen was killed some weeks ago in Dawakin Tofa LGA, adding that since then they had been making efforts to resolve the crisis.
“The root of the problem is from the LG chairmen who sold out cattle routes which forced the cattle to pass through farms.
“The dry season is fast coming, so the herders are on their way back from Niger Republic and Mali to the south, and that is the only way they can follow.
“Another issue is that farmers should harvest their crops as the rain is over. We have recorded over 35 days without rain now, so their crops have dried.
“It is high time that the government should direct farmers to vacate their farms for the herders to pass.”
However, the spokesman of the state police command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who confirmed the incident, said, “Normalcy has since returned to the area.
“One person died while another is receiving treatment in the hospital.
“While investigation has commenced into the matter, we have engaged Miyetti Allah and other stakeholders to resolve the crisis.”
