Troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) have intervened in an incident involving the suspected poisoning of livestock in Bassa LGA of Plateau state.
Thirty-two cows belonging to a local herder were reportedly killed under mysterious circumstances.
The incident happened in an open field along the Zawura-Jebbu Miango axis, between Dutsen Kura and Jebbu Miango, a region historically prone to ethno-farmer-herder tension.
Samaila Nuhu, the affected herder, told Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, that his animals began showing strange symptoms after grazing in the area, prompting suspicions of deliberate poisoning.
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The troops deployed to the scene following a distress call said the cattle had already been slaughtered by the herders themselves in a bid to salvage any usable meat.
A search of the area reportedly led to the discovery of suspected poisoned tomatoes and garden eggs scattered across a field with no residential structures nearby.
On April 2, a similar incident happened in Bunue when Danladi Chiroma, chairman, north-central zone of the Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), said 53 cows were killed during a reprisal attack in Agatu area of the state.
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Chiroma claimed the attack may have been a retaliation following the killing of five cattle breeders a few days ago.
