Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani bandits have killed two local hunters and injured a third in an attack on a village in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, in what appears to be the latest escalation of a long-running cycle of violence and reprisals between farming and herding communities. The attack occurred at about 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2026, when troops of Sector 6, Operation ENDURING PEACE, responded to distress calls reporting an assault on hunters at Kum village. Upon arriving at the scene, the soldiers discovered that two hunters, identified as Haruna Chiana and John Ranka, had been killed. A third person, Markus Pam, was found with injuries and was immediately evacuated to the General Hospital in Riyom for treatment.
The victims were said to have travelled from the Foron District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area to Kum village specifically for hunting activities. It is unclear whether they were in pursuit of game or were simply present in the area when the armed men struck. The attackers, according to a statement by counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, who cited security sources, are believed to be Fulani bandits. The assault on the hunters came just hours after a separate incident in the same Riyom area, where Berom youths allegedly attacked Fulani herders and rustled 84 cattle. This sequence of events points to a dangerous pattern of tit-for-tat violence that has long plagued the central Nigerian state, pitting the predominantly Christian Berom farming communities against the largely Muslim Fulani herders over access to land and water resources.
The military has since launched a manhunt for the assailants, and the injured victim is receiving medical care. The bodies of the deceased were also evacuated by the troops. While no group has claimed responsibility, the attack is widely seen as a reprisal for the earlier raid on the Fulani herders. Less than 24 hours before the hunters were killed, troops had arrested three suspected militia members and recovered the 84 stolen cattle that had been taken from the herders. In that operation, soldiers stationed in Doko responded to a distress call about a theft at the Makera market, successfully recovering all the livestock and returning them to the owners, while the suspects were detained for further investigation.
The tragic killing of Haruna Chiana and John Ranka adds to the mounting death toll in Plateau State, a region that has witnessed some of Nigeria’s most brutal communal conflicts. Just weeks earlier, on April 10, suspected Fulani bandits had killed eight residents in Mbwelle village, Kwatas District of Bokkos LGA. The recurring violence has forced thousands from their homes, disrupted farming activities, and exacerbated food insecurity. Despite repeated government interventions, including the deployment of special military task forces, the cycle of attacks and reprisals has proven stubbornly resistant to resolution, with criminal elements often exploiting the ethnic and religious fault lines for their own ends.
The incident in Riyom has drawn swift condemnation. Civil society groups in Plateau have called on security agencies to redouble their efforts and bring the perpetrators to justice. There is also a growing sense of fatigue and frustration among local communities, many of whom believe that the federal government has not done enough to permanently end the conflict. The response from the troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE was swift in this instance, but the fact that armed bandits could still strike with impunity in broad daylight underscores the depth of the security challenges facing the state.
As the injured hunter Markus Pam fights for his recovery, the families of the deceased are left to mourn. Haruna Chiana and John Ranka were not soldiers or police officers; they were community defenders, local men who had taken up arms to protect their land and people. Their deaths are a stark reminder that in Plateau State, even those who venture out to secure their communities are not safe. The military has promised to continue its pursuit of the attackers, but for the people of Riyom, the safety they crave remains a distant dream.
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