Fresh violence broke out on Sunday evening in Katse community, under Paikon Kore in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT, after a clash between farmers and herders. Though no lives were lost this time, several people sustained serious injuries during the confrontation, throwing the usually peaceful community into chaos.
Residents told SaharaReporters that the crisis started over grazing routes and the destruction of farmlands. What began as a dispute quickly escalated into a violent face-off. “This is exactly the same thing that happened recently in Gurfata. The herders keep entering farms, and the farmers resist, then everything turns violent,” one resident explained.
This incident mirrors a similar tragedy reported in July, when two people were killed in Gurfata after cows strayed into a farmland. The victims — Dahiru Yakubu and Musa Yaestu, a local vigilante commander — lost their lives in a deadly clash triggered by a dispute between farmers and herders.
According to eyewitnesses, the Gurfata clash began when farmers attacked a young herder whose cows had entered their farm. The boy was beaten badly, leading his younger brother to rush home and call for help. When their elder brother arrived, he allegedly overpowered one farmer and killed him on the spot. In the chaos that followed, Yaestu, the vigilante commander, was also killed.
The recurring clashes in Gwagwalada highlight the fragile peace between farmers and herders in the FCT, with farmlands, grazing routes, and mutual distrust fueling tensions that often spiral into bloodshed.
