Fulani herdsmen kill father, mother, daughter in Plateau
Gunmen believed to be Fulani militia have killed a man, his wife and their 12-year-old daughter in the Rijiyan Giwa community of Shendam local government area of Plateau State.
A source in the community who confirmed the incident on Thursday, identified the victims as Nde Talwa Gobak, his wife Nenpomwa and daughter, Nyokdel.
He said that the victims were killed by the assailants who broke into their home in the early hours of Thursday.
“The sad incident happened around 4 am when the Fulani bandits attacked Rijiyan Giwa community and were shooting everywhere.
“The family of Nde Talwa Gobak must have been their target because they made straight to his compound and broke into the residence.
“The killers went straight to their bedroom and opened fire on the victims on their bed, killing them instantly.
“Talwa, his wife Nenpomwa and their 12-year-old daughter, Nyokdel, were killed by the before they escaped.
“Before residents could reach them, the attackers had escaped.
“The victims were yam farmers who migrated from Kabwir in Kanke local government area to Shendam.
“They used to have issues with the Fulani herdsmen and had reported them to the police and community leaders for destroying their farm on different occasions.
“So we suspect the Fulani herdsmen targeted them because of that,” he added.
Also confirming the incident to newsmen, Hon. Sati Gobak, who is the younger brother to the late Talwa, described his deceased brother as a man of peace who lived his life pursuing peaceful ventures.
He said, “For the past 30 years that he has lived in that community, he never had any problem with anybody, not to my knowledge.
“I have visited him on several occasions and had interactions with members of his host community (including traditional and community leaders) who always described him as a man of peace”.
“I wouldn’t know exactly what could have happened but what I can only say is that a week before his death, some Fulani broke into his yam barn and stole some yam but were caught red handed and ordered by the Vigilante to pay a fine.
“Unfortunately, he was killed the day the fine was to be paid.”
The Plateau State Police Command had yet to officially react to the incident prior to filing this report.
The command spokesman , DSP Agaba Ubah, could not be reached immediately to confirm the incident as his phone was switched off.
