Police arrest four after deadly farmer-herder clash

The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested four suspects in connection with the violent farmer-herder clash in Gulma Town, Argungu Local Government Area, that left eight people dead following a series of reprisal attacks.

Police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police (SP) Bashir Usman, disclosed in a statement that the suspects—identified as Adamu Madugu, Musa Makera, Saidu Adamu and Shafi’u Hamza—will be prosecuted for alleged criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and culpable homicide.

According to the police, the violence began on Monday, June 22, after a dispute between a farmer and a cattle herder over alleged destruction of crops.

Investigators said the herder, identified as Yaron Buba-Dogo, allegedly led his cattle into the farmland of Alhaji Aminu Ala, damaging cultivated crops. The disagreement reportedly escalated into violence, with the herder allegedly stabbing the farmer to death.

The killing sparked immediate retaliation, as an angry mob reportedly hunted down the herder, killed him and set his body ablaze. The incident quickly escalated into widespread communal violence, with reprisal attacks spreading across nearby communities.

Police said six more people were killed during the unrest, bringing the total death toll to eight. Authorities confirmed that the victims comprised one farmer and seven herders. Four of the victims were reportedly burnt beyond recognition, while two others were later found dead on farmland outside Gulma.

Amid the violence, security operatives rescued five residents, including a woman, who had been trapped in a building surrounded by rioters. The victims were safely evacuated to the Argungu Divisional Police Headquarters.

To restore order, the Kebbi State Government imposed a curfew in parts of Argungu Local Government Area, while a joint security team comprising police and military personnel was deployed to enforce the restriction and prevent further attacks.

Commissioner of Police Umar M. Hadejia assured residents that investigations would continue until everyone involved in both the initial killing and the subsequent reprisals is brought to justice.

He also appealed to farming and herding communities to embrace dialogue and lawful conflict resolution, warning against taking the law into their own hands.

The police said efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest other suspects believed to have participated in the violence, while security patrols have been intensified across the affected communities to prevent a recurrence.