Niger farmer killed in escalating farmland dispute

A suspected  Fulani man has allegedly  killed a Niger State farmer, Safe Turak, in Fuka following a farmland dispute.

Sources familiar with the incident told Arewa PUNCH  that the farmer was killed on his farmland by his Fulani assailant for refusing to vacate his farmland.

The incident, it was gathered, happened in Gambwa village, Fuka Munya LGA. on April 30, 2026, after the Fulani man met Fuka cultivating crops on his farmland and ordered him to vacate the farm.

Arewa PUNCH learnt that when Fuka refused to vacate the land, the Fulani man used his dagger to cut off Fuka’s right hand.

The injury from the severed hand led to the farmer’s death, following which youths of Gambwa village who learnt of the killing grouped themselves and moved to the Fulani settlement for a reprisal attack.

Upon storming the area, the source hinted further that the Fulani residents  had fled the settlement before the youths arrived.

Still, the youths went ahead and set the settlement ablaze.

The state director of the International Human Rights Commission Relief Fund Trust Shuaib Wana in a statement made available to Arewa PUNCH condemned the killing and the reprisal destruction of the Fulani settlement, calling on security agencies to arrest alleged culprits.

“This barbaric incident led to the gruesome killing of an innocent farmer and the widespread destruction of homes, food stores, and livestock.

“This level of brutality is intolerable, unjustifiable, and represents a dangerous descent into lawlessness that must be decisively confronted.

“IHRC-RFT views this incident not as an isolated occurrence but as part of a disturbing and recurring pattern of violent conflict that continues to claim lives and destroy livelihoods. The time for silence, excuses, and inaction is over.

“Security agencies must immediately identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrator of this brutal killing. There must be no delay, no cover-up, and no compromise.

Justice must be swift, visible, and decisive.

“All individuals involved in the retaliatory arson and destruction must also be investigated and brought to justice. Selective accountability will only fuel further violence,” Wana pointed out.

The spokesman of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, in his reaction  to the incident, disclosed that normalcy has been restored to the warring communities while arrest of all suspects involved in the conflict was ongoing.

Abiodun stated: “On 30/4/2026 at about 12.30pm, a distress call was received of a communal crisis between some persons in Gambwa village, Fuka Munya LGA.

“Upon receipt of this, Police operatives attached to Gwada Division moved to the scene, and discovered that some settlements were set ablaze by some angry youths in the area, resulting in the destruction of some huts/houses and other valuables.

“Preliminary findings revealed that the attack was a reprisal emanating from a misunderstanding that occurred on the same date at about 9.30am between one Doza Hussaini 18 years and one Nasiru Tukur 25 years over a disputed farmland near the Fulani settlement in the area.

“In the course of the fight, Doza Hussaini contacted his father Hussaini Turaki 35 years for intervention and when Hussaini came in, he inflicted a cut on Nasiru Tukur’s hand, while Nasiru Tukur inflicted a deep cut injury on Hussaini’s brother’s hand one Safē Turaki 45 years. He was rushed to a clinic in Gwada where he was later confirmed dead.

“Other injured victims were also taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, Police operatives were deployed to the area, and normalcy was restored. Effort to arrest all suspects involved is ongoing,” Abiodun assured.