Herder cuts farmer’s hand in Kogi community

A man suspected to be herdsman has reportedly chopped off the hand of a young farmer in Ikoyi, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

City & Crime reports that the farmer, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, also received various degrees of machete cuts as a result of the attack.

Trouble was said to have started when the young man accused the herdsman of allowing his cattle to destroy his crops.

In an ensued encounter, the herder was said to have attacked the young farmer with a cutlass, cutting his right hand and inflicted injury on his leg after which he ran away.

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The man, who was said to have been picked up later, was rushed to a hospital at Kabba, where he is recovering from the attack.

Adebayo Alawo, a resident of the area said, “A farmer in a nearby farm heard the young man, said to be called Duro, screaming for help. The Good Samaritan met him drenched in blood and brought him to town for treatment.

“The teenager is recovering at a hospital in Kabba but the herder is yet to be located. The villagers are combing the area in their attempt to arrest the herder, raising the fear of reprisal attack in the community.”

A security meeting is said to have been held in the town over the attack, including the local government chairman, representatives from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Joint Task Force (JTF), Kogi State Vigilante Service Corps (KSVSC), community leaders, representative of the traditional council, leaders of Fulani, Gbagyi and Tiv communities in the area.

According to report from the area, all herders grazing in the Ijumu community have been directed to register with the local government and obtain identification, with non-compliance subject to a N2m fine.

Also, grazing in the community is said to have been restricted to 6am to 6pm, with violations carrying a penalty of N1m.

Equally, herders below the age of 18 are no longer allowed to graze their cattle within the LGA; a penalty of N1m fee has been imposed on the violators.

Kogi state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Williams Aya, did not respond to text message and call put across to his phone up till the time of filing the report yesterday.