his landlord and farmer, Musliu Aliu at
Igbeti in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State,
leading to a heightened tension between
the indigenes and the herdsmen in the
area.
A woman was also stabbed in the
stomach and had been hospitalised, while
about 19 houses were said to have been
razed in the aftermath of the incident.
Chairman of Igbeti community, Alhaji
Alawode Jimoh Fasina, said the indigenes
of the town had warned the deceased not
to accommodate the herdsman who has
many cows in the area.
He said: “Aliu went to his farm where he
had preserved some yam seedlings for
planting. But the cows ate some tubers of
yam, which resorted into a quarrel
between them. The herdsman accused
the deceased of poisoning his cows, who
he said were discharging bile.
“The deceased told us he was going to
report the incident to the police. But we
learnt that he went to his farm to plant
the yamseedlings. It was in the process
that the herdsman attacked and killed
him.”
In another incident, a woman was
attacked by another Fulani man, who she
claimed was trying to rob her.
According to the woman, the herdsman
tried to forcefully grabbed her purse in
which she had some money, but when
she resisted, he tried to cut her purse
which she tied to her waist with a dagger
and in the process, the dagger pierced
her stomach and gouge out her
intestines. She is in the hospital.
However, in his response to the
allegation of murder, leader of Fulani
herdsmen in the area, Alhaji Saliu Kadiri
who is also the National Chairman, Jamu
Nati Fulbe Association of Nigeria, alleged
that the deceased farmer poisoned his
crops which the cattle ate and that led to
its death.
“The herdsman reported the case and the
following day, the man was found dead.
He was not stabbed and there were no
stab wounds on him. His tubers of yam
were also burnt. Only my God knows
who killed him,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public
Relations Officers (PPRO) Oyo Command,
Mr. Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP), told The
Guardian that the herdsman who killed
the farmer was still at large.
Meanwhile, Ambassador of the United
States (U.S.) to Nigeria, Williams Stuart
Symington has said the only way to stop
incessant clashes between farmers and
herdsmen was to engage in ranching of
cows as it obtains in the U.S.
The American envoy, who made the
suggestion during his visit to Governor
Samuel Ortom of Benue State as part of
efforts to achieve peace, advised
Nigerians to always uphold peace and
unity in their diversity for development
to take place in the country.
He agreed with Ortom’s call for ranching
of cattle in the country, noting that only
such move will end the constant crises
between farmers and herdsmen.
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