From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State police command has confirmed the dead of some villagers in Barkuta community in Bosso local government area of the state following a bloody clash between Gbagy and fulani Herdsmen on Tuesday.
Although the police did not give the number of those killed during the attack which our source said was a reprisal in nature, the Public Relation Officer of the command SP Wasiu Abiodun in a statement in Minna on Wednesday said “few persons lost their lives”.
The statement reads: “On 27/08/2024 at about 0700hrs, report received indicated that one Alhaji. Sule Moh’d of Barkuta Village, Bosso local government area went to his farm with his son, and sighted some cattle in the farm, he instructed his son to go home while he traced for the owner of the cattle.
“The Alhaji. Moh’d didn’t return home which necessitated his family to search for him, and unfortunately, he was found dead in a river within the area suspected to have been killed by a yet to be identified person”.
Consequently, he disclosed that”this led to a little inter-tribal attack in the area and few persons lost their lives.
“However, the Area Commander Bosso ACP Galadima Lassa led Police tactical teams including DPO Maikunkele to the area, normalcy has been restored while monitoring continues and efforts to arrest the perpetrators of crime is ongoing, as investigation into the unfortunate incident has commenced”.
Meanwhile the people of the community have began to relocate in their numbers for fear of possible reprisal attack from the Herdsmen who were said to have suffered heavy casualties from the clash.
A similar bloody clash between the Gbagys and the Herdsmen in the area in 2017 led to the dead of several people from both sides.
No fewer than 11 soldiers also lost their lives with conflicting accounts on how they were killed.