EXCLUSIVE: Eight killed, market disrupted over Niger lawmaker’s gift

The violence erupted following a monetary donation on Sunday made by Sani Musa, the lawmaker representing the Niger East Senatorial District.

At least eight villagers have been killed in targeted attacks between the Fulani and Kamaku ethnic groups in Tegina, a town in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

The violence reportedly erupted after Sani Musa, the Niger East District senator, made a monetary donation last Sunday.

Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the fight began on Friday, when machete-wielding herders attacked members of the local vigilante group at the Tegina weekly market.

The herders reportedly accused the vigilantes of killing their leader, Muhammed Shehu, through whom the lawmaker reportedly passed the money for sharing among beneficiaries in the community. The herders reportedly believed that Mr Shehu was killed over the money.

“On Friday, Fulani herders invaded the local market, attacking vigilantes and disrupting trading. Eight bodies from both sides have been buried,” a resident, Garba AP, said.

“The lawmaker donated ₦10 million to the Fulani community in Tegina through their leader, Muhammed Shehu. However, Shehu was later killed. After his remains were discovered near a vigilante office dominated by the Kamuku tribe, members of the Fulani community began retaliatory attacks, killing individuals of Kamuku extraction on sight,” he added.

Authorities imposed a curfew and deployed soldiers to Tegina, but sporadic clashes continued. Mr AP said the curfew was relaxed on Saturday, but more fights were reported on the town’s outskirts.

The lawmaker, Mr Musa, did not respond to phone calls and WhatsApp messages requesting his comment on the development.

However, the police spokesperson in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed that eight people were killed. He said the police were looking for a key suspect in the alleged killing of the Fulani leader.

“There was a reported clash between some Fulani persons and vigilante men in Tegina over a suspected homicide of one Mohammed Shehu of Gimi village, and his motorcycle was taken away.

“Unfortunately, about eight people lost their lives as a result of the clash. After police and military personnel were deployed to the area, normalcy was restored, and efforts to arrest perpetrators are ongoing,” Mr Abiodun said in a short message to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

Fulani and Kamuku in Tegina

Tegina town is at the epicentre of the security crisis in the Nigerian North-central zone. The area is targeted by bandits for mass abductions and raids. In May 2021, 136 children were abducted at the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School in Tegina. Three months earlier, 27 students were abducted at Government Science College in nearby Kagara.

However, cattle herders and crop farmers in the Tegina had a cordial relationship. Historically, the Fulani and the Kamuku have maintained a mutually beneficial system.

But the raids, cattle rustling, and arbitrary kidnappings for ransom by bandits have severely disrupted this relationship. The layer of external trauma frequently inflames internal communal tensions, turning minor local friction into deadly confrontations.