- Fulani leader says herders face unreported killings and cattle losses in Plateau.
- He accuses native militias of repeated attacks on Fulani settlements.
- Sale urges fair media coverage of violence affecting herding communities.
A Fulani leader in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, Malam Musa Sale, says the public perception that Fulani herders are responsible for most attacks in the state is misleading, insisting that his people have been the primary victims of killings, cattle rustling and coordinated assaults.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Sale told Daily Post that herders in Plateau State have suffered more deaths and losses than in any other Middle Belt state. He said, “I can tell you that Fulani herders suffer more attacks in Plateau State than in other states, especially in the Middle Belt.”
According to him, the Fulani community has recorded more than 1,000 deaths and the loss of over 5,000 cows in the last five years across Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Bassa and Riyom. He accused native militias of targeting herder settlements, often without media attention. “Most of these attacks and killings of our people are not reported because the media here refuse to report what we are going through,” he said. “They only report when our people get frustrated and decide to go after those who kill our herders and steal our cows.”
Sale added that even when Fulani herders are victims, the narrative is usually reversed. He alleged that youth groups, particularly among the Berom, routinely attack Fulani communities. “In some cases, native youths form gangs and attack Fulani settlements, kill our people and rustle our cows. These attacks are never reported, but when our people decide to fight back, the whole world sees it,” he said.
He explained that many of the victims are young boys engaged in routine grazing. Sale cited a recent confrontation in Mangu where Fulani herders were blocked for two days between Kombun and Bwai before security personnel intervened. He described Bokkos as “a dead zone for herders”, adding that a recent attack left a 13-year-old dead and more than 50 cows stolen.
Sale further alleged that some youths destroy their own communities and accuse Fulani herders. “Sometimes, these Berom youths deliberately attack their own communities, destroy farmlands and set fire to villages, then turn around and accuse Fulani herders,” he said.
He noted that the Fulani community has kept records of attacks and will make them public at the appropriate time. While acknowledging the presence of criminal elements among herders, he stressed that native tribes also have militia groups.
He urged the media to report Plateau violence with fairness. “We have also been victims, but no one cares to report those incidents because of the hatred they have against us,” he concluded.
