Gunmen suspected to be cattle rustlers have killed two herders and injured a vigilante during an attack on a Fulani settlement in Mawogi II village, located in the Gawu ward of Abaji Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to local security guard Ibrahim Yakubu, the attack occurred in the early hours of Tuesday. He reported that the armed men stormed the settlement and opened fire when some herders attempted to resist them.
“The gunmen shot two herders who tried to stop them. One died instantly, while the other succumbed to his injuries on the way to a hospital in Lambata, Niger State,” Yakubu said.
He explained that the sound of gunfire drew the attention of nearby villagers, who alerted vigilante members from neighboring Gawu village. A firefight ensued, during which the assailants abandoned the stolen cattle and fled into the bush. One vigilante member sustained injuries and was taken to a hospital in Lambata for treatment.
Yakubu noted that the swift response of the vigilante group likely prevented the attackers from making away with the livestock. “Their quick intervention really helped. Without it, the rustlers could have escaped with all the cows,” he said.
The Ardo Fulani of Gawu, Malam Dahiru Abdullahi, confirmed the incident via a telephone conversation with our correspondent. He added that the attackers were believed to have come from the Mayaki forest, a neighboring area in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, SP Adeh Josephine, said the command had not yet received any report of the incident. She promised to follow up with the local division but had not provided further updates as of the time of this report.
