Suspected herdsmen kill 8 in fresh Plateau attacks •5 Missing

After months of respite, gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have killed eight persons with five others declared missing in Attaka community in Ganawuri District of Riyom Local Government area of Plateau State.

An eyewitness, who is also a community leader, Musa Gabriel, said that gunmen suspected to be fulani herdsmen at about 3:00 pm on Thursday, attacked a group of farmers, mostly women, working on their farm in Attaka community.

The community leader, who narrowly escaped the attack, said the gunmen swopped on the farmers and killed four on the spot while others fled towards different directions.

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Gabriel said: “We were harvesting groundnut in our farm when we noticed suddenly that we had been sourrounded by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen. They killed four of us on the spot while the rest  of us escaped to our makeshift settlement close to the farm.

“They traced us to our camp where we lived because many of us just returned to the community after we were displaced two years ago. Two were also killed in the camp while many of us sustained injuries and seven people declared missing and yet to be found until now.”

He added that securitymen could not access the community on time  due to the difficult terrain, adding that those who sustained injuries were currently recuperating at General Hospital, Kafanchan, Kaduna State, which is close to the community.

“Based on my latest findings, two of those receiving treatment died in the early hours of  Friday. Though security men have been drafted to this community, we are still living in fear.”

When contacted, the Public Relation Officer of the Plateau State police command, DSP Mathias Terna Tyopev, said he was out of town and yet to be briefed on the incident.

However, a member of the state House of Assembly representing Riyom Constituency, Hon. Timothy Dantong who confirmed the incident, said based on what he was told on Thursday, five persons were killed and five others declared missing.

According to him, the people of the community recently returned to Attaka after two years of being sacked by Fulani herdsmen adding that they were attacked  while working on their farm.

He claimed that prior to the attack, the people had received a threat letter allegedly from the Fulani of a plan to attack, adding that while the security men and elders meeting on both sides were making efforts on what to do about the threat, the people struck.