There is tension in Unguwan Fanfon Daji, a rural community in Batsari Council of Katsina State, after hunting dogs owned by indigenes killed 10 goats belonging to Fulani herders.
But to avert disaster, the herdsmen have asked the community to pay N60,000 as compensation for the goats. The community was given till tomorrow to raise the money.
It was learnt that the ultimatum unsettled the community, even as residents were taxing themselves to meet the demand.Trouble started last Saturday when three youths from the community, with several hunting dogs, set out into a nearby forest for hunting.
The youths and their dogs were said to have trekked close to an area where the herdsmen were pasturing their animals, and the dogs allegedly killed 10 goats.
“The youths ran for dear lives after they discovered what the dogs had done, but some of the herdsmen later went after them on motorcycles.
“They traced the youths and their dogs to Unguwan Fanfon Daji, and when they asked a resident who owned the dogs, he pointed out one of the youths that was part of the hunting expedition.
“The herdsmen caught him and tied him to one of their motorcycles, and were about to leave with him into the forest when some elderly men from the community came and begged them to reconsider their actions,” a source in the community told The Guardian.
With a dead goat as proof, the herders was said to have demanded that a N20,000 compensation be paid for each dead goat, amounting to N200,000.
But the community reportedly asked for some time to discuss the issue.
The source added that the herdsmen came back to the village on Sunday afternoon, and community leaders pleaded with them to accept N50, 00 for the dead goats, an offer that was declined.
After much negotiation, the herders finally agreed to collect N60,000 for the dead goats, and promised to return on Wednesday, March 18, by 2p.m. to collect the money. Spokesman for the police in the state, SP Gambo Isah, was yet to respond to inquiry made on the issue as at time of this report.
