Katse community in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was once again thrown into mourning today after a violent clash between Fulani herdsmen and farmers left several people injured and farmlands destroyed.
Eyewitnesses told Chronicles Reporters that the violence erupted when herdsmen allegedly drove cattle into cultivated farmlands, destroying crops. Farmers who challenged them were met with brutal force, as the herdsmen reportedly advanced with machetes, leaving multiple victims badly wounded.
Security operatives have since moved into Katse, restoring a fragile calm. But for residents, this is a familiar story: government negligence, delayed security response, and a recurring cycle of bloodshed.
An investigation by Chronicles Reporters shows that 2025 has already recorded at least six major Fulani-related killings and clashes in Gwagwalada, including the recent attack in Gurfata community just weeks ago.
• January (Gwako): Two farmers hacked to death after resisting grazing on cassava farms.
• March (Dobi): Night attack left four people dead, several homes razed.
• June (Paiko-Kore): Farmers ambushed, one killed, others injured.
• July (Kutunku): Clash over farmland destruction led to two youths killed in reprisal.
• August (Gurfata): Armed herdsmen stormed the community in a late-night attack, killing at least three residents and forcing dozens to flee.
• August (Katse, today): Farmers macheted after resisting farmland invasion, with several hospitalized.
These incidents confirm a disturbing pattern: Gwagwalada has become a hotspot of farmer-herder violence, with security agencies struggling or unwilling to prevent attacks.
Residents accuse both the FCT administration and security agencies of ignoring repeated warnings.
“We keep burying our brothers and sisters while officials look away,” one farmer lamented to Chronicles Reporters. “They only come after blood has been spilled, never before.”
Another elder described the situation as an “existential war,and an act of trying to silence the indigenous people that is why they nominated a Fulani man to run for chairman” stressing that food security in the FCT is at risk as farmers abandon their fields out of fear.
Despite countless complains and protests, farmers say there has been no decisive action no compensation for destroyed crops, no arrests of armed herders, and no policy to prevent cattle encroachment on farmlands. Instead, they are left with a cycle: destruction, death, and empty promises of investigation.
As Katse and Gurfata count their losses, families of victims demand justice. The question remains: how long will Gwagwalada communities endure bloodshed before authorities deliver real solutions, not condolences?