Officers of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday attacked Fulani settlers in X-Land Barkin Ladi, Plateau State after two soldiers were allegedly killed by the herdsmen.
The retaliation was provoked by the attack on Sunday on men of Sector Five of the Special Task Force, Operation Save Haven (OPSH) by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.
Two soldiers were killed and another soldier injured in the ambush.
The soldiers who were angered by the incident gave the community two days to provide their attackers.
On Tuesday, the soldiers returned and raided the area, burning down scores of houses, a witness said.
The witness said the houses burnt largely belonged to the Fulani settlers in the community, adding that the army also made some arrests during the raid.
“On Sunday, gunmen attacked soldiers of the sector five, killed two personnel and ran into the houses of Fulani settlers living here in X-Land.
“Soldiers came and had a meeting with the Fulanis and told them to provide the culprits but they failed to, and yesterday (Tuesday) soldiers came and raided the community.
“They burnt down many houses, over 100 and arrested some persons,” the eye witness said.
Efforts to reach the Spokesperson of the task force, Maj. Ibrahim Shittu, on the matter was unsuccessful, as he replied the several calls put across with a text message.
The text message reads: “I have seen your text, will get back to you on it, please”.
But ASP Obah Ogaba, the Public Relations Officer of the Plateau Police Command, confirmed the incident.
“It is true that gunmen ambushed security personnel of sector five, opened fire on them, killed two soldiers and injured one.
“The issue of burnt houses is not the key matter, but soldiers are attacked and two were killed and this is the major concern, here,” he said.
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