The Police in Borno said that eight persons lost their lives in a clash between farmers and herders over alleged land encroachment in Bayo Local Government Area of the state according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
The Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar confirmed the incident at a meeting with leaders of the farmers association and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) on Friday in Maiduguri.
He said reports indicated that violence erupted on Nov. 30, over the alleged encroachment of farmlands and the murder of a farmer by unidentified assailants in the area. “Eight persons killed including children while 47 houses and six motorcycles were burnt,” he said.
He said the police had restored normalcy to the area and arrested some suspects in connection with the disturbances, adding that the state government had provided relief items to the affected persons.
“This is a source of concern to the government and security agencies, the meeting is aimed at providing lasting solutions to the problem.“At the end, we shall come up with modalities to check the movement of wandering herders into the state, especially in areas that witnessed violence,” he said.According to him, a committee will be set up to enhance surveillance and monitoring as well as promote peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders.
He said membership of the committee would comprise representatives of security agencies, farmers and herders associations.While speaking at the event, Ahmadu Musa-Karube, Chairman of the MACBAN, called for proactive measures to address the root cause of the problem. Musa-Karube said that the lack of cattle routes and encroachment of farmlands were largely responsible for farmer/herder clashes in the state.
Violence involving pastoralist herders and farmers in Nigeria has been surging in recent years. Since 2010, there have been over 15,000 deaths linked to farmer-herder violence. Half of those have occurred since 2018 according to human rights groups.
