Unidentified assailant have again shot dead a herder, Hamza Sulaiman, while grazing animals in the Shen community of Jos in South local government area of Plateau state.
The attack, which occurred around 12:30 p.m. Monday, also claimed the lives of three cattle and a number of sheep.
Garba Abdullahi, state chairman of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN) and chairman of the Coalition of Fulani Registered Organisations, confirmed the incident Tuesday.
He said Sulaiman was with five other herders when they came under attack.
Jafar Jibrin Bayero, uncle of the deceased, condemned the act and recounted how one of the surviving herders alerted the family.
“We rushed to a military checkpoint in Latiya and then proceeded to the scene with security personnel. We found the animals shot dead. While gathering the surviving ones, we noticed Hamza was missing,” he said.
Bayero added that the search led to the discovery of Hamza’s body in a shallow grave.
“With the help of security personnel, we recovered his corpse and buried him at Dadin Kowa cemetery Tuesday evening.”
Leaders of Fulani associations, including Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo of MACBAN and Garba Abdullahi of GAFDAN, urged the authorities to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. They appealed to community members to remain calm and avoid retaliation.
Isa Abubakar, Public Relations Officer of the Early Warning Early Response (EWER) system in Jos South, confirmed the incident.
“This is criminality, and we’ve alerted the relevant authorities,” he said while urging residents to maintain peace.
As of press time, state security agencies had not issued an official response.