No fewer than seven Fulani herders have been killed in two separate attacks in Maiyanga village of Kwall District in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The state Chairman of Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Malam Nura Abdullahi, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust in Jos on Thursday.
He said the recent attack, which occurred on Tuesday, had claimed five lives and one other missing while more than a hundred cows were killed and some macheted by the assailants.
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Abdullahi said all the attacks occurred in the same Maiyanga village and both the police and personnel of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) were informed of the incidents.
“After the first attack on Tuesday, last week, two herders rearing their cows were suddenly attacked and killed in the area. We reported the case to OPSH and appealed to the leadership of MACBAN to exercise restrain while the investigation was going on to arrest the perpetrators of the act.
“To our surprise, on Tuesday this week, five herders were attacked and killed in the same area. They were going about their normal rearing when assailants attacked and killed them. There is no farm activity at the moment in the area because the area is rocky. There is no justification for this attack as the area has been peaceful in recent time, ” he said.
According to the chairman, the bodies of the victims had been recovered with the support of both the OPSH and police and have been handed over to them for burial.
The OPSH’s spokesman, Major Shittu Ibrahim, confirmed the incident, saying investigation was ongoing.
Daily Trust reports that this is the first known violence in the state in the last four months.
