Gunmen shoot herders at Plateau fuel station, five injured

Suspected gunmen on Sunday evening attacked a group of herders at a Conoil filling station along the Bukuru Expressway in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, leaving five people injured.

The Plateau State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Yusuf Babayo, confirmed the incident, explaining that the victims were travelling in a Peugeot J5 open-back vehicle when they stopped at the filling station to buy fuel. According to him, the vehicle was conveying eight herders at the time of the attack.

Corroborating the account, the Deputy Chairman of Kara Market, Dauda Adam Ciroma, described the incident as a serious and violent assault, noting that it occurred at about 7:30pm.

Ciroma said security operatives responded swiftly after the shooting and assisted in taking the wounded victims to the hospital.

“It was the police and I who took them to the hospital. They were badly injured with all of them sustaining fractures and had bullet wounds,“ he said.

In a statement issued on Monday, Babayo disclosed that the attack took place around 6pm on Sunday as the herders were returning from Kara Market, a major cattle market in Bukuru. He said three armed men riding a motorcycle reportedly followed the victims to the fuel station, opened fire on them, and escaped immediately after the attack.

According to him, the injured herders were first taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) but were later transferred to The Potters Specialist Hospital, Jos, due to the ongoing strike at the government-owned hospital.

“This attack is unprovoked because the herders were just buying fuel. The gunmen targeted the herders, and that is why they directly attacked their vehicle and fled.

“This has become a dangerous trend threatening the existence of Fulani herders in the state.

“We will not relent in calming our members and urging them to remain calm because we believe the incessant attacks against us are meant to provoke us,” he said.

Babayo urged security agencies to immediately investigate the incident and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

“We are urging the security agencies in the state to wake up to this dangerous trend and arrest it immediately because our lives, wherever we are in communities, grazing fields, markets, and other places are no longer safe, “ the chairman added.

Meanwhile, efforts to get reactions from the spokespersons of Operation Enduring Peace and the Plateau State Police Command, Major Samson Zhakom and SP Alabo Alfred, were unsuccessful as they had not responded to inquiries at the time of filing this report.