Witnesses say three people were killed and two others injured in an attack Sunday evening by suspected cattle herders in Bassa local government area of Plateau State
No fewer than four people have been killed in two separate attacks on farming communities in Plateau State, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.
Three lives were lost in the attack in Zanwra area of Bassa local government area on Sunday and one Bitrus Manzere was killed near a military base in Riyom local government area on Monday.
Confirming the attack in Zanwra, the President of Irigwe Development Association, Robert Ashi, said the suspected herders stormed the house at about 8:20 p.m. on Sunday.
He told PREMIUM TIMES that the assailants shot a pregnant woman, Rifkatu Friday; her 7year-old daughter, Ladi Friday, and an octogenarian, Minchwe Gado, to death.
“There was an attack. They entered the house. Around 8:20 p.m. on Sunday June 27,2021, Fulani herdsmen attacked Zanwra village in Jebbu-Miango where three people were killed and two injured who are currently receiving treatment at a hospital,” he said.
Mrs Friday was survived by two children, Mr Ashi added.
In the Riyom local government area, a middle-aged man, identified as Bitrus Manzere, was killed near a military station.
According to Daylop Solomon , a lawyer and the coordinator of a local non-governmental organisation, Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria (ECCVN), Mr Manzere was ambushed by herders at about 8 p.m. on Monday.
The attack took place along Makera – Jol village road, which is close to Sector 6 Headquarters of Operation Safe Haven, the military task force set up to maintain peace in Plateau State.
The spokesperson of the state command of the police, Gabriel Ubah, was yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMES’s enquiries as of press time.
Herder attacks across the North-central states have been a growing concern lately.
Benue State, which is the worst-hit, has recorded at least two deaths within the space of three months.
This, with banditry and terrorism, is some of the security challenges bedevilling Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong recently launched 50 new patrol vehicles and 200 security motorcycles purchased by the state government as part of efforts to quell criminal activities and criminal attacks on innocent citizens.
