Blood flowed
in Etogi community, Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, when gunmen
suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, in the early hours of Saturday, killed
21
people and injured about 15 others.
This latest
attack is almost two months after the last herdsmen’s attack on Lefu community,
in Gurara Local Government Area, where seven people were killed and 10 others
kidnapped.
It was
gathered that the Saturday night attack was in reprisal for an earlier
disagreement between some Fulani youths and members of the affected community,
which ked to the death of a herder.
According to
a source close to the community, the herdsmen were offered land by the
community as their settlement, on the agreement that a certain amount of money
would be paid to the village head every year.
Trouble
started when the herdsmen failed to remit the agreed amount this year, claiming
that the land in question now belonged to them.
This did not
go down well with the youths in the community who went on rampage, leading to
the death of a herder.
The herders
were said to have reached out for support from their kinsmen elsewhere and
launched an attack on the community mosque, when Muslim faithful were observing
their early morning prayers.
Malam Mairo
Mohammed, who lost a brother in the attack, told Daily Sun on phone that the
attackers, who laid siege to the mosque, waiting for early morning worshippers,
killed everybody in the mosque, including the Imam.
Women and
children, who were woken by the commotion, took to their heels, with about 15 of
them sustaining injuries in the process.
The state
police command’s public relation
officer, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the report, saying 20 people were killed in
the attack.
He said the
attack was reprisal for the killing of a herder by the villagers.
“The killing
of a herder was managed, but it appears they were not satisfied and decided to
retaliate,” Elkana said.
According to
him, a number of people sustained injuries during the attack and are currently
recuperating in a nearby hospital.
He said that
riot policemen had been deployed to the community, while Department of the
State Security and officers of the command’s Criminal Investigation Department
were on hand to maintain peace.
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