Herders under fresh attack in Plateau

Gunmen attacked cattle rearers on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 13 cattle in the Fan district of Ndim community in the Barikin Ladi local government area of Plateau state.

Our correspondent reports that the latest incident occurred exactly one week after a herder was killed and over 100 cattle were rustled in Nafan Dreji, also in the Fan district of Barikin Ladi LGA.

Security operatives tasked with maintaining peace in the area had promised to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.

Abubakar Gambo, secretary of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), confirmed the latest incident to Daily Trust on Wednesday, stating that the affected cattle died instantly at the scene of the incident.

He explained that they had reported the incident to Sector 4 command of Operation Safe Haven in Barikin Ladi where some personnel of the operation had visited the scene and promised to track down the perpetrators.

Muhammad Yakubu, one of the attacked rearers, narrated how the incident occurred.

He said, “We where tending to our cattle when suddenly, three young men armed with guns descended on us and started shooting sporadically. We were lucky to have fled the scene of the incident unhurt but 13 cattle were shot dead while six were injured.

One of the owners of the affected cattle, Auwal Ibrahim, also expressed concern over the attack and called on the security agencies to rise up to the occasion.

“All the cattle died at the scene of the incident because there wasn’t any way we could slaughtered them at the time of the incident. By the time we arrived at the scene with soldiers, they cattle had already died.

Reacting to the development, the state chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Nura Abdullahi, said, ”What is happening to us in the Barikin Ladi general area is a deliberate attempt to provoke our members. Last week, they killed more than one hundred cattle, and yesterday they killed another 13. They are picking a fight with us. We are calling on security agencies to arrest those responsible for these brutal attacks.”

The spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, maintaining peace in the area, Major Samson Zhakom, has not responded to calls and SMS from our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.