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Herdsmen ambush villagers days after “bandits” influx Plateau forest

Two people were Sunday ambushed by suspected herdsmen in Wereng village of Riyom Local Government Area in Central Nigeria’s Plateau State.

A local non-governmental organization, Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria (ECCVN) says the natives of Byei village in Riyom LGA were ambushed at about 7:00pm near a military base along Wereng-Byei village road.

One of them, Mr. Stephen Joshua was hacked to death while the other, Mr. Yohanna Dauda narrowly escaped. 

“The villagers were returning from Wereng Camp when the militias emerged from the nearby bush and attacked them,” says Mr. Dalyop Solomon, the Chief Executive Officer of ECCVN.

Dozens of villagers have been killed in isolated attacks in Riyom LGA since December last year.

Many of the victims were sacked from their ancestral lands in series of attacks last three years.

The killings resuming as the villagers are trying to return from internally displaced persons camps are likely aimed at expelling them again.

Over 50 villages belonging to minority Plateau tribes have been fully taken over by herdsmen after similar attacks spanning over a decade, media reports say.

But last week, the State Governor, Simon Lalong said no forceful takeover of land in the State.

The Governor has been lashed by activists and Journalists for the comment.