Two killed, 75 houses burnt after soldiers’ relocation from Plateau villages, Miango youths claim

Gyang Bere, Jos

The Miango Youth Development Association, Plateau State said two of its members were attack and killed by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen one day after the Special Task Force (STF) Sector 6 Command were removed from Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Publicity Secretary of the association, Sango Lowrence Nabant, in a press state said 75 houses were also burnt with foodstuffs during the attack.

He denied the killing of 319 cattle belonging to the Fulani and said no Fulani person in the locality had a complaint that his cows were killed.

“The Fulani herdsmen have continued to terrorised citizens daily without any positive response from the Federal government. The government has failed in its primary responsibilities of protecting the lives and properties of it citizens.

“A day after the withdrawal of Sector 6 STF Command, Jos in Irigwe chiefdom, on May 3, 2019, by 10 pm, gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded two villages of Bassa Local Government, Hukke and Rikwechongu.

“They killed two people, a mobile police officer was killed by gunshot and Di Zere, a 63-year-old man burnt beyond recognition in his room; a 10-year-old girl survived the attack in Hukke; 75 houses with food stores and two churches were burnt and razed down.

“They destroyed farm produces worth millions of naira and a lot of domestic animals were killed, monies stolen and there is no any intervention from the Federal government.”

Nebant added: “We will like to make it clear again, we are not aware of any cows killed in Irigwe chiefdom by our youths. We know the Fulani’s who are with us and none of them complained of a missing cow.

“How on earth can we kill 319 cows a day with matches, it is impossible? We are not butchers but farmers. If only government will compensate the Fulani’s for false claims we need to be compensated too for our losses.”

He called on international community to intervene on the killings in Irigwe Chiefdom and claimed that several people had been displaced from their ancestral homes.