BY TINA AKANNAM
Dutse—No fewer than 13 farmers were injured during a violent clash between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the Kirikasama Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Sunday evening.

Vanguard gathered that violence erupted when some Fulani herdsmen insisted that their cattle must graze through  farm lands where grains are yet to be harvested.

According to eyewitnesses, the resistance of the farmers was said to have angered the herdsmen who then began to shoot them randomly with poisoned arrows.

The sources said it took the prompt intervention of a combined team of police officers from the eight local government government areas  for the crisis to be brought under control.

It was learnt that the 13 injured farmers were rushed to Hadejia Emirate General Hospital for  medical attention,  while eight of them were later transferred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, as the arrows in their bodies could not be removed in Hadejia.

Confirming the incident in an interview with newsmen, Chairman of Kirikasama Local Government, Alhaji Abba  Daguro, said the clash would have escalated but for the timely intervention of the police .

He said although no life was lost, the farmers sustained various degrees of of injuries even as none of the Fulani herdsman was injured.

Daguro however, promised that his council would settle the medical bills of those injured, adding that the council had so far authorised the transfer of the six farmers to AKTH since the arrows could not be pulled out from the victims at the general hospital.

’’It is a sad event, but I thank God that nobody was killed during the clash. The state police command is still investigating the matter, and some arrests have already been made but I can not disclose the number of persons arrested,’’ he added.

Also confirming the matter,  the state Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent, Abdul Jinjiri said seven persons had been arrested in connection with the clash in Kirikasama, even as investigations were still going on.