Gunmen sack seven villages, kill soldier, two others in Plateau

At least seven villages in Gashish district of Barkin Ladi local government council of Plateau State have been sacked by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, leaving hundreds of persons scampering for refuge.

This is even as a soldier attached to the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis was shot dead in an ambush at Ngar village of the same local government area. Another soldier, who narrowly escaped with gunshot wounds, is currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Jos.

According to a community leader in one of the villages, Mr Ezekiel Mandyau, over 160 persons have been killed in his villages in the past two years, while hundreds of others now nurse various wounds sustained from similar attacks by the gunmen.

Mandyau said that most of the stories of cattle rustling reported in the media are carried out by the Fulani themselves. He said, 'The Fulani steal each other's cattle, and make it look like the natives are the ones doing the stealing; the ones that have fewer cattle steal from their kinsmen and carry them to other places to sell.'

Meanwhile, two farmers were also ambushed and killed along Bululu and Yiplack villages of Kanam local government area while they returned from their farms.

Chairman of Kanam Local Government Area, Honourable Ado Yusuf, who confirmed the attack, added that security operatives have been deployed to the communities to prevent further breakdown of law. Thisday