NATURE OF CATTLE RUSTLING IN PASTORAL COMMUNITIES IN KWAME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the nature of cattle rustling among pastoral communities of Kwami local government area, Gombe State, Nigeria. Data were collected through the administration of questionnaires to fifty respondents randomly drawn from the study area. The result was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean and range. The result reveals that all (100%) of the respondents were male and 82% had the basic Qur’anic education. The result shows that a cattle rustling in the study area was caused by factors such as increase value of cattle from rustlers (30.15%), poverty (22.22%), unemployment (22.22%), illiteracy (3.17%), and accumulation of wealth (8.73%) and availability of guns to people (8.73%). About 80% of the respondents agree that cattle rustling in the study area do take place during the night hours and mainly through sneaking (50%). Also, the result indicates that 88% of the respondents received no help/intervention from government. Hooves /foot tracing (41.30%) and sending messages across neighbouring villages (33.69%) were the major actions taking by herders to find rustled cattle. Majority (60%) of the respondents have found their rustled cattle at cattle markets and neighbouring communities (20.0%). The major (96%) constraint faced by the cattle herders was that of lack of trust on security personnel. The study concludes that cattle rustling do occur in the study area. The study therefore, recommends that cattle herders should form vigilante groups across communities to help fish out rustling activities. Government too needs to recognize that cattle rustling is a national problem, hence the need to put strategies in place that could help reduce cattle rustling in the study area and Nigeria at large.