Two people have been killed by gunmen along the Barkin Ladi–Dorowa Babuje road in Plateau State.
According to reports, the victims were returning home after attending a security meeting convened by the Sector Four Commander when they were ambushed and shot dead.
Confirming the attack in Jos on Wednesday night, the National President of the Berom Youths Moulders Association (BYMMA), Solomon Dalyop, said the assailants struck without provocation.
“Two of our people were killed a while ago. They were going home on Wednesday evening after attending a security meeting called by the Sector Four Commander when they were ambushed along the Barkin Ladi–Dorowa Babuje road and killed. Yesterday, they attacked two villages simultaneously and killed one person in the night around 7 p.m.,” he said.
The latest incident follows rising tension in the area. Dalyop alleged that suspected Fulani armed groups had launched simultaneous attacks on two villages on October 6, killing one person.
He claimed that the attackers often justify their assaults by accusing others of cattle killings.
“Yesterday, they came up with an allegation that their cows were killed. They will always come up with such allegations, even if they want to kill. Assuming that something like that happens, won’t you allow security agents to carry out an investigation? From our own assumption, it is their own people who attended the security meeting who gave information to their killers about the road our own people returning home would follow. So, they went and blocked the road and killed two people while two others escaped. The corpses of those killed are now lying at the morgue of the Barkin Ladi General Hospital,” Dalyop added.
In a related development, gunmen also attacked the Inzon community in the Fan District, killing a 13-year-old herder, Abubakar Wada, and 36 cattle, while 49 others remain missing.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACABAN) alleged that members of the Berom ethnic group were behind the attack, a claim the Berom Youths Moulders Association denied.
The state chairman of MACABAN, Ibrahim Babayo, said the attackers invaded the grazing area and opened fire on the herders and their animals.
“The incident happened in the evening. We have so far counted losses of over 80 cattle because 36 were killed, while 49 are still missing. The attack was carried out by the Berom people from the Fan district. Two herders escaped the attack. This is barbaric and unfortunate. The herders and the cattle were just passing peacefully without provocation. We call on herders wherever they are in the state to remain calm and allow security forces to investigate those responsible for the attack. Nobody should take the law into their hands,” he said.
Both incidents have heightened fears of renewed violence in Plateau State, prompting appeals for calm and restraint from community leaders.
When contacted, the Acting Deputy Director, Public Relations, 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, said investigations were ongoing and that he had contacted the sector commander in the area for verification.
As of the time of filing this report, no additional statement had been issued.
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