Five Killed, Hundreds Displaced in Fresh Adamawa Clashes

No fewer than five people feared dead and about hundreds of families displaced in clashes between farmers and cattle grazers in Mboi, a village in Song Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Bitrus Daniel, a resident of the village, narrated that the clash followed a disagreement between the farmers and grazers when the former accused the herdsmen of willingly allowing their herds to destroy crops that were not yet harvested.

According to him, after a little fisticuff between the two sides, the herdsmen regrouped in the night and launched an attack on the village, where numerous houses were destroyed, while domestic animals and foodstuff worth millions of Naira were also vandalized.

Another resident of the village, Bello Audu, said the victims did not expect this attack from herdsmen. The resident further called on the government to increase security, surveillance in the area, as more attacks on farmers are possible.

Mr. Audu expressed dismay that the herdsmen were not disarmed despite the emergency rule in the state. He called on the military authorities to deploy officers into the hinterland as many villages in the area were facing great danger.

“I call on the military authorities to focus their attention to the rural communities as we are at the mercies of armed men especially the herdsmen who killed with savageness at the slightest disagreement,” he said.

Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, the Public Relations Officer of the Adamawa State Police Command, confirmed the incident to the newsmen, but could not provide further details.

Efforts to contact the military in Adamawa were unsuccessful. The Army spokesperson in Adamawa, Nuhu Jafaru was reportedly travelling Lagos for an official engagement.

It would be noted that Adamawa, just like Borno and Yobe, has been under emergency rule since May 2013, as soldiers try to dislodge insurgents in the states. 

Premium Times