•As police bomb disposal unit detonates bomb near Islamic scholar’s residence in Plateau

By Marie-Therese Nanlong with agency report

No fewer than 25 people were reported to have been killed in Kaduna and Plateau States in the early hours of yesterday, following separate attacks on the people by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

In Kaduna, 15 people were killed at Ambe-Madaki village in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State at about 4am, while 10 persons were killed in Shurun village, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State where fight erupted between the Fulani herdsmen and the natives in the area.

It was learnt that several other people were seriously wounded during the mayhem which led to the razing of 40 houses, altogether.

This was even as the Plateau Police Command Anti-Bomb squad yesterday diffused a bomb planted close to the residence of a prominent Islamic scholar in Jos, Sheik Yahaya Jingir.

However, the incident in the Sanga area of Kaduna, however, almost sparked a religious crisis, as thousands of natives who protested the incident allegedly marched to Gwantu, the headquarters of the local government to register their displeasure over the incessant attacks despite the peace agreement the people signed with the Fulani several months ago turned violent but the prompt intervention of the Special Military Task Force stationed in the area averted further bloodshed.

The attack was said to have been carried out at about 4am, barely a week after 10 people were killed in Tattaura village in the same local government by some suspected Fulani herdsmen.

Sources told Saturday Vanguard that the suspected herdsmen who were armed with sophisticated weapons invaded the village in the early hours of the morning and started shooting sporadically while setting people’s houses ablaze.

A resident of the area, Mr. Yohanna Adamu told reporters on the telephone that 20 houses were razed while several other people sustained serious wounds during the attack, which he said lasted for some hours.

Adamu further said, “We are surprised that despite the agreement our communities entered with the Fulani not to attack each other, they have been attacking us. They came to our village at about 4 am, armed with sophisticated weapons and started shooting and burning houses. “We have not compiled the casualty figure yet because some people are still missing, but we have 15 corpses of people who were killed.”