Herdsmen slaughter 21 people in reprisal attacks in Niger

Armed men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen at the weekend attacked and slaughtered 21 people in Etogi community in Gbara ward of Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.

The unfortunate event happened after an earlier misunderstanding between some Fulani youths and some members of the affected community that resulted in the death of one Fulani herdsman.

An eyewitness account, who gave the number of casualties as 21, explained that herdsmen in the area were given a land to rear their cattle with an agreement that they would give a certain percentage to the village head.

However, the herdsmen reportedly did not only fail to keep the agreement this year but also claimed that the land now belongs to them, which led to the misunderstanding and subsequent death of one of the herdsmen.

In revenge, the herdsmen it was learnt sought the support of their kinsmen outside the area and launched an attack on the community’s mosque during early morning prayers killing 21 persons.

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According to the stateCommand’s Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, 20 people were killed during an early morning prayer following a reprisal attack of an earlier killing of a herder by the villagers.

He said, “The killing of a herder was managed but it appears they were not satisfied and decided to retaliate.”

He further noted that eight people had diverse injuries during the attack but are now recuperating in a hospital.

Riot policemen were said to have been deployed to the community while officials of the Department of the State Services and officers of the command’s Criminal Investigation Department had commenced investigations into the crisis.

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