Seven houses, a container shop, two cars and a bike torched were among the visible devastation in Unguwan Yobe and Aso Pada communities in Mararaba, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Wednesday.

The destruction was carried out by suspected herders who besieged the towns, avenging one of them shot by a member of the communities.  

Palpable fear still gripped the residents on Thursday when Peoples Gazette visited the communities.

Our correspondent learnt that an altercation between a vigilante and member of the communities identified as Sunday Adeoye and some herders triggered the crisis.

As some hoodlums ransacked the burnt buildings for scraps, Godswill Joe, a next door neighbour of Mr Adeoye, told The Gazette that Mr Adeoye accused the herders of killing his pigs. 

He stated that in the heat of the argument, Mr Adeoye rushed into his room, allegedly pulled out his rifle and killed one of the herders. 

“The owner of this house (pointing), Mr Sunday Adeoye, had an encounter with some herders over who killed his pigs. Sunday rear pigs across the stream,” Mr Joe said.

He added, “As the argument festered, he rushed into his house to pick his rifle. He is a vigilante. Even his wife and others begged him not to shoot. But he insisted that the herders have been killing his pigs. So he shot and one of them was hit by a bullet and died. 

“So the boys went away angrily and reinforced. They returned well armed, burnt Mr Adeoye’s car, house and other houses around.” 

Mr Joe also showed The Gazette the remnants of Mr Adeoye’s torched house and car. 

He added that a tenant who recently moved into the neighbourhood lost his life to the carnage.

Another resident dressed in a Juventus jersey, Francis Daniel, narrated how he narrowly escaped being killed during the attack. 

“I was returning home without knowing that some armed herders were in the vicinity on a reprisal. They attacked me with a machete but I was lucky to block it with my hands and ran fast as they chased after me,” Mr Daniel said showing his sutured hands.

A widow, whose late husband owned a farm in the communities, and other residents  were brutally injured during the attack and were still in the hospital as of the time this report was filed.

Also, a dark-complexioned resident identified as Kenneth Ezekiel, who is a brother-in-law to the widow, said the rampaging herders destroyed his late brother’s farm.

He stated, “The owner of this farm was my younger brother. I lost him last year October. The wife is in the hospital now. They attacked her with a machete yesterday.”

A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being identified and attacked said the herders raided a container shop, looted its contents before setting fire to it.

Speaking on the development, the Nasarawa State police spokesperson, Rahman Nansel, in a statement on Wednesday, said “During the altercation, the said Sunday Adoye reportedly retreated to his residence, retrieved a pump-action firearm, and discharged a shot that struck one Ado Yau, a 17-year-old herder, who died on the spot.

“Following the incident, other herders reportedly mobilised in large numbers and launched a reprisal on the Unguwan Yobe community, during which four houses, two motor vehicles, and three motorcycles were set ablaze, while four persons sustained varying degrees of injury,” the police spokesperson said.

According to the police, soldiers on patrol were invited to the scene to restore order. 

The police noted that during the intervention, two individuals identified as Muhammadu Ibrahim (25) and Ado Gambo (18) were fatally shot. 

“The suspect, Sunday Adoye, has been arrested, and the firearm used in the commission of the crime has been recovered. Additionally, 15 male suspects have been apprehended in connection with the disturbance,” Mr Nansel said.

The Gazette could not reach the head of Fulani community for comments for safety reasons. Efforts to get his mobile were also unsuccessful as of press time. 

While our correspondent was at the incident scene, a false alarm by an unidentified person that the attackers were returning sent many scampering for safety.

Some hurriedly locked their shops for fear of attack.

The Gazette informed Mr Nansel of the panic hovering on the community on Thursday during the visit and the absence of security agents to tackle recurrence.

But he said that policemen slept overnight in the neighbourhood to restore peace.

“Can security be everywhere? Our men slept there yesterday. I did a video call with my men who slept there yesterday. When things happen like this? people will be scared. Our men slept there. We will ensure normalcy is ensured,” Mr Nansel told The Gazette.