Tension flared again in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as fresh violence erupted on Sunday evening in Katse community, under Paikon Kore in Gwagwalada Area Council, following a bloody confrontation between farmers and herders over disputed grazing routes.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that while no fatalities were recorded, several residents sustained serious injuries during the chaos, leaving the once-quiet community gripped by fear and uncertainty.
According to community sources, the crisis was triggered by the destruction of farmlands, a recurring flashpoint in the lingering conflict between herders and farmers. The confrontation quickly escalated into a violent face-off, with residents describing scenes of panic and bloodshed.
“This is exactly the same thing that happened recently in Gurfata. People were badly injured even though no one died. The herders keep trespassing into farms, and when farmers resist, everything turns violent,” a resident lamented.
The latest incident mirrors a July clash in the same council where two people, including the local Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) commander, Musa Yaestu, lost their lives after cows strayed into a farmland in Gurfata. The violent altercation that followed claimed the lives of Yaestu and another victim, identified as Dahiru Yakubu.
Recounting that deadly encounter, locals said the crisis began when farmers attacked a herder boy after his cattle encroached on their crops. “They beat him to the extent that they broke his head,” one source revealed. In retaliation, the herder’s elder brother confronted the farmers, overpowered one of them, and fatally butchered him, sparking further violence that led to the killing of the vigilante commander.
Sunday’s clash in Katse has reignited fears that the cycle of violence is tightening its grip on rural communities within the FCT. Farmers, who depend on their crops for survival, accuse herders of deliberate destruction of farmlands, while herders claim they are being unfairly attacked when simply following traditional grazing routes.
Security operatives have since moved into the area to restore calm, but residents remain uneasy, fearing reprisals or a renewed outbreak of hostilities in the coming days.
As the clashes intensify across Gwagwalada and other parts of Nigeria, stakeholders are once again calling for urgent government intervention to address the perennial farmer-herder crisis before it spirals further out of control.
PIONEER NEWS 