No fewer than eight people have been killed in a clash between farmers and herdsmen in Gulma town, Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The violence reportedly followed a reported stabbing death of a herder on his farmland by a farmer which led to a retaliatory attack on Fulani settlements in the area by the farming community.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, who confirmed the incident, said the clash happened at about 3 p.m. on Monday and claimed eight lives.

“The incident was a reprisal attack following the stabbing of a farmer by a herdsman. “We are in charge of the situation now. Eight people died,” he said.

Usman said four persons rescued by security operatives during the violence have since been discharged from hospital.

“Normalcy has been restored in the area and security personnel deployed to maintain law and order,” he said.

The police spokesman appealed to residents to be peaceful, cooperate with security agencies and not to take the law into their hands.

A source familiar with the incident said the crisis was caused by a dispute between the deceased farmer and the herder over a cow whose leg was allegedly broken when the farmer was trying to chase the animals away from his farmland.

The herder then confronted the farmer over the incident and allegedly stabbed him to death, the source said, sparking retaliatory attacks that spiralled into communal violence.