Gunmen Kill Herder, Poison 26 Cattle In Plateau

A herdsman has been killed in Shen community, Jos South LGA of Plateau State.

He has been identified as Hamza Sulaiman. 

Garba Abdullahi, Chairman of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN), said the attack occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Monday while six herders were grazing. Three cattle and several sheep were also killed.

Fulani leaders called for justice and urged their communities to remain peaceful. In a separate incident, 26 cattle were allegedly poisoned near the INEC office in Mangu LGA. Musa Muhammad, Secretary of MACBAN in Mangu, said the cattle were grazing when the poisoning occurred around 1:30 p.m. Local security personnel, including the DSS and police, visited the scene and confirmed the deaths. Poisoned mangoes and contaminated water were discovered.

Muhammad accused the Muwagvle youth group of orchestrating the poisoning, but the group’s spokesperson, Satmak Bala, denied the claim, calling it baseless.

Meanwhile, the Plateau chapter of the Coalition of Fulani Registered Organizations denied issuing preconditions for peace in the state. Chairman Garba Abdullahi clarified that their April 7 press briefing in Kaduna was a plea for intervention—not demands—regarding insecurity in Bokkos LGA. He said their message was distorted by some media outlets, misrepresenting the Fulani community’s stance.

Jafar Jibrin Bayero, the deceased’s uncle, said Hamza’s body was found in a shallow grave after the shooting.