Prior to the recent escalations, herdsmen would graze in public areas and trade with farmers for leftovers to feed their flock.
However, security problems, porous borders leading to easy flow of arms, desertification, and an increase in the number of cattle, coupled with a rise in the population of farmers and improper planning by the authorities, the resources along the routes could not sustain both communities and the herdsmen resorted to violence to take what they would have traded for before.
Our data has shown that the initial attacks occurred mainly along the banks of the Katsina-Ala and Benue Rivers as herdsmen entered farms along the fertile river basin close to the banks.
