Plateau State faces surge in militia attacks and cattle rustling

Plateau State is experiencing a surge in violence involving armed attacks on both residential communities and herding groups. In the Riyom Local Government Area, suspected armed militia launched an early morning assault on a civilian volunteer guard post, killing at least three people. Witnesses reported seeing an unidentified drone hovering over the guard post shortly before the gunmen opened fire on residential structures, causing villagers to flee.

In a separate incident in the Gero community of Jos South Local Government Area, gunmen attacked herders, killing 14 cattle and rustling 29 others. Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), noted that these attacks represent a worrying pattern of violence that threatens the livelihoods of pastoralist families and regional stability. The incidents follow previous killings of herders in the Gero and Nyongo areas earlier this month.