Nigerian Pilot reports on Monday that the Fulani gunmen stormed Berom in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state and killed seven people from same family, while others were killed in a nearby village.
It was gathered that the killings took place in an attack and counterattack between Fulani and Berom people, after two Fulani travellers were killed on Sunday by a Berom mob which was protesting the release of detained armed youths by the Special Task Force, STF, deployed to restore law and order in the state.
In retaliation, the Fulani allegedly killed the family of seven, On Monday.
Confirming the incident to newsmen, the state Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Haruna Boro Hussaini, said a Fulani woman and her co-travelers were attacked and killed by a Berom mob on Sunday.
He said some soldiers had attacked and burnt down seven Fulani settlements in Luggere Shaw of Barkin Ladi Council.
“We heard that the STF arrested two Berom youths who were planning to attack a community with arms, then some Berom women demonstrated for the release of the youths and then we later heard that some soldiers were burning our settlements. We reported the matter to the STF Commander, Maj-Gen. David Enetie and he assured us that it will be investigated,” he said.
However, Mr. Langun Jacobs, who reportedly lost seven members of his family in the Fulani reprisal attack, said the victims included his parents.
According to him, the Fulani gunmen also attacked Sabon Layi community in Barkin Ladi at about 12.45am and killed his brother and his wife, as well as their two children.
“We have reported the matter to security men and they have come to see the corpses. The chairman of Barkin Ladi council also came to see us,” he said.
It would be recalled that on Sunday some women and youths in Barkin Ladi council blocked the highway linking the Plateau North Senatorial District to the Central and Southern zones demanding the release of the youths arrested by the STF.
It was gathered that the youths were arrested on Saturday evening by the STF with two AK47 rifles following an intelligence report that they were planning to attack Sho Village.
The STF Media and Information Officer, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, who confirmed the arrest said: “We arrested two youths suspected to have planned to attack Sho Village. Two AK-47 rifles were recovered from them.”
However, Berom women and youths on Sunday afternoon blocked the highway in Barkin Ladi in a protest and marched to the STF Sector 7 Command demanding the release of the youths.
Witnesses said the protesters burnt two motor cycles on their way to the Sector 7 Command of the STF, while a resident who gave his name as Titus Samuel Kasem, revealed that the community was angry over the arrest of the youths, insisting that the weapons recovered from them were for self-defence.
But, Iweha urged residents to allow security agents do their job while he pleaded with them to avail the security operatives with timely and useful information.
Responding to the incident, the state police command spokesman, Abu Emmanuel, confirmed the incident, saying six people were killed in the early hours of yesterday.
Chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Hon. Emmanuel Loman, who also confirmed the attack on the family yesterday in Jos, said it occurred at about 11.00pm on Sunday.
“The attacks started last week in some villages by the Fulani and continued again yesterday at about 11pm where seven members of the family of Baba Jacob were killed,” he said.
The council boss, who revealed that Mr. Jacob is a retired police officer from Mupun in Panshin Local Government Area of the state, said he had been residing in the area since his retirement and questioned why his large family could be killed in one day without the security agents arresting a single person till now.
Loma acknowledged that aggrieved women and youths demonstrated on Sunday in reaction to the attacks on some villages where the people were defending themselves when men of the STF surrounded them and collected their weapons and allowed the Fulani to go free.
Meanwhile, some months ago, not fewer than 26 people were reportedly killed, with over 80 houses burnt in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State by suspected Fulani herdsmen."
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