At Least 7 Killed In 3 Different Attacks in Plateau Villages

At least seven persons have been killed in three different attacks in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

In one of the attacks, some unknown gunmen laid ambush for some cattle herdsmen in Kassa village, swooped on them and killed three.

Also, a vehicle loaded with four cows was attacked on its way to the cattle market in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area.  The owner of the cows, Mallam Ali Suleiman, was killed, but the driver of the truck, Samaila Ibrahim, escaped with bullet wounds.

Another three corpses were recovered along Barkin Ladi road, apparently dumped by some unknown assailants. The three bodies were later discovered to be those of three Fulani young men who left Saminaka, Kaduna State, to visit their Kinsmen in Sho village of Barkin Ladi council area.

The three young men were attacked by some unknown gunmen while on their way to Sho village.

It was alleged that they were abducted by some unknown gunmen and taken to unknown destination where they were killed by their abductors and their bodies dumped on the highway along Barkin Ladi-Jos road where their remains were later discovered at dawn.

The Secretary, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Barkin Ladi chapter, Muhammed Adam Muhammed, who confirmed the attacks to journalists in Jos yesterday said: “The attacks on the vehicle heading to the market in Bukuru took place at Kassa village opposite Redeem Church Camp on Saturday morning. The owner of the cattle, who was conveying his cattle to market in Bukuru Ali Suleiman was killed in the attack, the driver of the truck, however Samaila Ibrahim escaped narrowly.”

Mohammed also said, “Three of our brothers were coming from Saminaka to pay a visit to their relatives in Sho and the victims were communicating with their host while on transit. They inform their host that were already in Bukuru heading towards Sho, but when their host tried to call them 30 minutes later, their phones were switched off. Their bodies were later found at about 6:30p.m. last Sunday.

“The names of the three herdsmen killed in the second attacks are Hamza Damina, Khamalu Hussein and Ahnass Husseini. We have recovered all their bodies from where they were killed,” he said.

He lamented that, “The Fulani man has consistently come under attacks in Barkin Ladi, and in all these attacks, we can only suspect the Berom; that is their style of attacks, and it is only the Berom that attack us this way in Barkin Ladi. So we appeal to security agencies to help us find these attackers and to also protect cattle grazers in the villages.”

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Emmanuel Abu, who confirmed the attack on the travellers, said the police was still trying to verify the identities of the victims and where they were coming from.