A group of armed individuals believed to be herdsmen has carried out an attack on farmers in the Bachi community, located in the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. In the incident, four individuals sustained injuries.
Solomon Mwantiri, the President of the Berom Youths Moulders Association, confirmed the attack during a statement in Jos. He mentioned that the victims were targeted while working in their farms.
The assault occurred on Tuesday afternoon, as recounted by Mwantiri. He also informed that the injured individuals were promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention and are presently undergoing treatment.
Describing the event, he stated, “On August 6, 2024, around 2:00 pm, a band of more than 20 well-armed Fulani assailants attacked some inhabitants of Lwa in Bachi District, Riyom LGA, who were farming in the Seheng area of the village.”
Recalling the ordeal from his hospital bed, one of the victims named Caleb Bachen shared that while he was situated separately from the other farmers, he heard their desperate cries for help amid the sound of gunshots in the vicinity.
He recounted attempting to flee home upon realizing the danger, only to be pursued and brutally assaulted by some of the armed attackers wielding firearms, machetes, and clubs, despite his pleas for mercy.
Another victim recounted that they had obtained consent from the Fulani community a few months earlier before commencing farming activities, following years of being denied access to their lands.
He mentioned that threats from the Fulani escalated the previous week, indicating that they would not be allowed to harvest their crops that year.
Additionally, he detailed the confrontation on the farmland, noting the presence of more than 20 armed Fulani individuals who initiated gunfire and forcefully drove them away from their cultivated fields.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, for comments on the incident were unsuccessful as calls to his mobile phone were met with a switched-off response.