About 30 people have been killed and several others injured in deadly reprisal attacks by herdsmen in Katsina, North-Western Nigeria. The tragic incident happened on Valentine’s night, Friday 14th of February 2020, in Batsari Local Government Area. It has been reported that 21 people burned to death and homes razed in Tsauwa village, plus 9 others in Dankar village shot dead.
Sanusi Buba, the state’s Commissioner of Police gave the details of the incident via a telephone call on Sunday. According to Buba, the villagers had an earlier disagreement with herdsmen, which led to a reprisal attack on Friday night. One suspect has been arrested on Saturday as investigations continue.
On local news report, the state government said that the news it received indicated that the resident had attacked and killed two Fulani herdsmen, causing the reprisal attack.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a native of Katsina State, has condemned the incident stating that “no one in the country has a right to take laws into his hands by the way of self-help or revenge.” He further stated that there was “no place for violence in a decent society.”
There has been a rise in conflict between herdsmen and communities in Katsina state over the past couple of months. Many of the conflicts were caused by disputes over the encroachment of herds on farmlands in local communities. Usually, these herdsmen take their cattle to the southern part of the country to graze due to the availability of more green lush grasses in the region. However, most herdsmen had returned to the north due to the rainy seasons that lasted until early December 2019.
Last year, Buhari, warned farming communities in the state to cease attacks on herdsmen who were returning from Southern Nigeria due to the weather conditions. He also admonished the cattle rearers to respect the boundaries of farmers. This warning was sounded through his spokesperson, Garba Shehu.
According to the statement, “herdsmen returning from the South due to the rainy season must respect the boundaries of farmers and villagers, while the communities must refrain from attacking herdsmen.”
The Fulani herdsmen are nomads, who move with their cattle from place to place in search of lush green grasses. They sleep where their cattle sleep and sometimes drink the same water as their herds. This peculiarity, in time past, made them vulnerable as well as made them destructive to farmlands. When the herdsmen reportedly encountered cattle rustlers and filed complaints to relevant authorities, no proper investigations were made on the matter. This made them resort to arms for self-defence, however, they have wreaked much havoc in the country killing thousands at the slightest provocation and displacing many.
On January 6, 2020, suspected herdsmen had attacked at least 10 communities in the Chikun and Birnin Gwari local government areas (LGA) of Kaduna state. As of 13th of January, 13 people had died and 58 abducted. The perpetrators later established a link with the family through which they made demands of ransom from family members of kidnapped citizens.
The bandits have reportedly established communication links with the families of the kidnapped victims and are demanding a ransom for their release. Farmland in Chikun and Birnin Gwari was also destroyed during the attacks. On Wednesday, January 8, unidentified gunmen also kidnapped four students from a Catholic seminary.
The growing unrest between farming communities and herdsmen in Kastina state should no longer be treated with levity. Apart from strengthening security in the state, the Nigerian government should come up with proactive measures like engaging leaders or representatives of farming communities and herdsmen in constructive dialogues that would help solve these problems.
