Herdsmen attack village in Jigawa, destroy hectares of crops

SUSPECTED Fulani herdsmen, at the weekend, attacked Marma village in Kirikasamma Local Government Area of Jigawa State, destroying over 150 hectares of crops.

Metro gathered that the Fulani hersdmen stormed villagers’ farmland in the midnight with thousands of their cows which grazed the farm produce which were mature and waiting to be harvested.

The villagers, it was gathered, woke to find all their farm produce, such as rice, maize, pepper, tomatoes and watermelon had been destroyed.

One of the villagers who preferred anonymity, said “we were all angry and mobilised to launch a reprisal on them (herdsmen). We were ready and prepared to go after them when our village head arrived at the meeting, condoled with us and promised authorities’ action.”

Speaking with newsmen, the district head of Marma, Alhaji Haruna Adamu, confirmed the incident, adding that the matter had been reported to the appropriate authorities and some suspects had been invited.

According the district head, “the crops destroyed included rice, maize, as well as tomatoes and pepper worth millions of naira.”

He, however,  urged the affected community to be law-abiding to ensure continued peace and stability of the area, just as he also appealed to the state government to quickly intervene, in order to protect lives and property in the affected community.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abdu Jinjiri, confirmed the incident, as he said “yes, it is true; there was something like this, but there is a lot of exaggeration on the quantity.

“According to a report at our disposal, the Fulanis were in transit from Guri side to an unknown destination. They made some destructions in a few farm lands along the line, but there is a lot of exaggeration. This is the true situation of the matter.”

Jinjiri disclosed further that there was no any arrest, “but the police invited all the stakeholders and resolved the matter amicably.”