At least 40 people have been killed and hundreds displaced in a deadly communal conflict between Bandawa farmers and Fulani herders in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State over the past two weeks.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, the violence erupted on May 9 following a dispute over farmland encroachment between a Bandawa youth, Buhari Malamby, and two Fulani herders whose cattle had allegedly strayed onto his farm.
Intelligence sources revealed that Malamby was killed during the altercation, which prompted Bandawa youths to retaliate by slaughtering several cattle in the bush. This incident triggered a cycle of violence as armed Fulani youths reportedly invaded Badawa community, killing two persons and injuring another youth from nearby Munga Dasso.
Security forces intervened quickly, organizing peace meetings on May 15 and 16 with stakeholders from the affected communities – Bandawa, Munga Dasso, Munga Lelau, and Fulani settlements. The parties agreed to sign a peace accord at a later date in Karim-Lamido town.
However, the fragile truce collapsed when a youth from Munga Dasso was reportedly killed by Fulani youths while traveling to a farm near a Fulani settlement in Munga Lelau. This killing sparked further violence as Munga Lelau youths attacked the Fulani settlement, killing four individuals.
The situation escalated dramatically when heavily armed Fulani militia, reportedly mobilizing from neighboring communities on nearly 50 motorcycles with up to three riders each, launched a large-scale assault on Munga Lelau.
Authorities have imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew across Bandawa, Munga Dasso, Munga Lelau, and surrounding communities. Despite the deployment of troops and police, the security situation remains tense.
While some displaced residents have begun returning to their homes, many others remain trapped in fear, anxious about the possibility of renewed attacks.
This latest outbreak of violence adds to the growing concern over farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria's Middle Belt region, where competition for land and resources has increasingly led to deadly confrontations between agricultural and pastoral communities.
