A consortium of civil society organisations operating under the umbrella of the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and Nigeria Mourns, on Monday, has called for an independent probe into recent attacks on agrarian communities in Benue and Plateau States, leading to the loss of at least 183 lives in the third week of April 2025 alone.
A statement jointly signed by Global Rights and over 20 other CSOs in Nigeria demanded that the federal government should allow for an independent investigation into all reported attacks to ensure the prosecution of perpetrators without bias or delay, through the instrumentality of the National Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
They also demanded strengthened security deployment in high-risk areas, with special attention to early warning and rapid response systems.
This, the group said, was in addition to the deployment of the Nigerian Air Force platforms for aerial surveillance and raids, with real-time feeds shared publicly to expose the true nature of the assailants or their conspirators.
The CSOs stressed that these attacks, perpetrated by criminal groups often mischaracterised as herders in conflict with farmers over land and water, were nothing short of acts of terror against vulnerable communities.
Meanwhile, Fulani herders have claimed that 37 of their cattle had been shot dead on Sunday afternoon at Tashek community of Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident came less than seven days after over 300 of their cattle were allegedly rustled in Mangu LGA and 36 others allegedly poisoned to death.
Chairman of state chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, said the incident occurred at about 1pm when the herder was crazing the cattle.
Babayo described the attack on their cattle as unprovoked, and capable of upsetting the fragile peace in the state.
“The gunmen stormed the area and started shooting at grazing cattle leading to the death of 37 cattle and injuring the herder. Immediately after the attack, I called on the sector commander of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in Riyom to inform him about the incident who subsequently deployed troops to the scene to assess the situation,” he said.
