Saturday, September 26, 2026

Cows overrun motorists in downtown Abuja, cause destruction

Despite widespread opposition against open grazing in Nigeria, President Buhari has refused to yield on carving out grazing routes for cows across 25 states.

• September 3, 2021
Cows on Abuja road
Cows on Abuja road used to illustrate the story

A herd of cattle on Friday marched onto Lugbe Airport Road in Abuja, causing destruction to vehicles and inflicting injuries on road users.

A video of the incident was published on Twitter on Friday afternoon, eliciting echoes of outrage and frustration from Nigerians.

Motorists decried the disruption caused by the cattle, saying they had become a menace across even the nation’s capital.

There are existing regulations enacted by Abuja city administration against open grazing of cows around the city centre, but herders have only sparingly complied.

President Muhammadu Buhari has faced charges of allowing the herders to flout laws against open grazing across the country.

Although he strongly denied claims of sympathy towards herdsmen, he has nonetheless insisted on carving out grazing routes for cows across 25 states, saying the colonial era regulation should still be followed in the 21st century because nomadic cattle grazing is a way of life amongst his ethnic Fulani people.

Abuja residents have witnessed repeated cases of cows blocking major roads as they forage around the nation’s capital.

In a Twitter post that included a short video clip of today’s accident scene, a Toyota Camry was seen damaged from behind, with witnesses immediately attributing the chaos to the cows that could still be seen roaming freely along the busy highway.

A spokesperson for the police in Abuja did not immediately return a call seeking comments about the incident.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU

Politics

2027: Zamfara youths declare support for Tinubu’s re-election

Zamfara youths, under the City Boy Movement, have declared support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027.

NationWide

CIBN inducts 2,178 new bankers

The CIBN inducted 2,178 new chartered banking professionals.

NDLEA

NationWide

NDLEA,‌⁠‍‍⁠⁠‌⁠‍‌⁠‌‌‌ UAE’s NDEA sign MoU to deepen anti-narcotics cooperation

The MoU was signed on Saturday, on the sidelines of the ongoing 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Nigeria, Namibia

Africa

Nigeria, Namibia partner on cross-border trade, investment

Namibia’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Walde Ndevashiya, said the initiative would provide a practical platform for connecting businesses.

Uba San

Heading 2

Uba Sani to clear inherited debts as contractors hail governor 

Mr Baba said the governor inherited huge liabilities but has demonstrated that government is a continuous process by taking steps to pay the contractors’ debts.

President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar

Heading 3

Nigeria’s debt has risen by N116.94 trillion under Tinubu while Nigerians drown in hardship: Atiku 

“A government that says more money is coming in must explain why it keeps borrowing and why the people paying for its policies cannot see the promised gains,” Mr Abubakar said.