Gunmen were yesterday said to have opened fire on grazing cattle in Tanjol community, Riyom local government area of the state, leaving two herders and cattle with injuries.
It came just hours after a visit by the federal government delegation to the area recently attacked by armed herdsmen.
The state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), IbrahimĀ Babayo, said the herders were attacked while grazing their cattle.
But the national president of Berom Youths,Ā Barr. Dalyop Nwantiri, said the gunmen hid in the midst of their cattle to attack innocent citizens.
“What they usually do is to hide among the cattle with sophisticated weapons to attack villages and communities. Sometimes if the villagers want to defend themselves they run into the cattle to use them as shields,” he said.
He added; “It is possible that they were the ones that shot themselves and their cattle in the process so that they can justify the terror attacks on innocent citizens.ā
According to Nwantiri, three days ago herdsmen killed four persons in Tanjol community but nobody reacted.
The MACBAN chairmanĀ said while the herders were grazing the animals, the gunmen stormed the area and started shooting sporadically. āThey injured two herders, Adam Abdullahi and Bilyaminu Alhassan. We have reported the incident to the GOC 3 Division, DSS and sector commander in Riyom LGA . The sector commander has visited the scene of the incident. Two sheep and a cow died instantly while four cows were injured. They are likely not to survive. The security agencies promised to investigate the matter and ensure justice for the victims. They also warned us against taking the law into our hands,ā the chairman added.
Spokesman of Operation Safe Haven, Major Samson Zhakom,Ā did not respond to inquiries about the incident at the time of filing this report.
