A man, identified as Elisha Baba, has sustained machete injuries, while his 29-year-old son, Mathias Elisha, lost his left hand in a fresh clash between farmers and herders in Kabusa community, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The incident occurred barely two weeks after five people were killed and several shops, alongside goods, were burnt in Paikon-Kore community in Gwagwalada Area Council following an escalation of a farmers-herders conflict.
A Kabusa resident, Zuwana John, who confirmed the latest incident to our reporter on Sunday, said it occurred on Friday at about 5pm after some cows allegedly strayed into a farm and destroyed beans planted by the community.
He said some residents had spotted the cows feeding on the beans while two herders stood nearby.
According to him, the residents immediately alerted the farm owner, who rushed to the farm with his son, Mathias, and found the cows destroying the crops.
John said trouble started when Mathias confronted the herders for allowing the cattle into the farm, prompting one of them to flee while the other allegedly brought out a machete.
He said Mathias managed to disarm the herder.
However, the fleeing herder reportedly went to alert his kinsmen at a nearby camp and later returned to the farm with others.
‘They came back in their numbers and started attacking Elisha’s father with machetes.
‘When Mathias realised that the herders had overpowered his father, he also confronted them. In the ensuing struggle, he fell to the ground, and one of the herders used a machete to cut off his left hand, leaving him and his father in a pool of blood,’ John said.
Mathias, who also spoke to our reporter by telephone from his hospital bed, said the incident occurred at about 5pm on Friday after he received information that some cows had entered his father’s farm and were destroying beans yet to be harvested.
He said he immediately rode his motorcycle with his father to the farm, where they found the cattle feeding on the crops.
He said he confronted one of the herders and succeeded in seizing his machete and stick, while the other herder fled.
Mathias said a few moments later, about four herders from a nearby camp arrived and began attacking his father with sticks and machetes, inflicting serious injuries on him.
‘When I saw how they were attacking my father with sticks and machetes, I could not control my anger. I confronted one of them and managed to seize his machete and stick,’ he said.
He said one of the herders subsequently attacked him with a machete, and his left hand was severed while he tried to defend himself.
‘Even after I fell to the ground, I was still trying to defend myself as one of the herders continued attacking me with a machete, while my father was already lying unconscious in a pool of blood,’ he said.
He added that the herders fled with their cattle, leaving him and his father seriously injured.The incident was subsequently reported to the police station in Kabusa.
Mathias said his father was immediately taken to the Federal Medical Staff Clinic in Jabi, Abuja, where both of them were receiving medical attention.
The Secretary of the FCT chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Mohammed Usman, said he was unaware of the incident.
He, however, promised to contact the Ardo Fulani in Kabusa to establish what happened and provide further information.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of AMAC, Hon. Christopher Zaka Maikalangu, has condemned the clash, which left a father and his son seriously injured.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Kingsley Madaki, the chairman expressed sadness over the incident.
He said that upon receiving information about the clash, he immediately directed security operatives and vigilantes to move to Kabusa to restore calm and ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
The statement added that the council had also informed the FCT Police Command about the incident.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, CSP Josephine Adeh, did not answer calls or respond to text messages sent to her phone for comments.