A 67-year-old herder, Alhaji Mohammed Suleiman Maifadama, has accused the police and Fulani vigilantes of allegedly killing three of his children at Shereti village in Kabusa ward of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the FCT.

Maifadama, while narrating the incident to our reporter over the phone on Monday, said the incident happened on December 18, 2024, at about 12am at the herders’ camp in Shereti community.

“I just returned to my room at about 12m to sleep after I went to inspect my cows, and shortly after, some people forcefully entered my room and asked me to come out,” he said.

He said he stood up to put on his shirt, adding that one of the policemen threatened to shoot him when he tried to find out what was the matter.

“They kicked my door open and when I asked what was their mission, one of the police threatened to shoot me,” he said.

He said some of the police officers and vigilantes moved straight to the room where four of his children were sleeping and opened fire, killing three of them on the spot.

He said one of them, who survived with bullet injuries, Lawal Mohammed Suleiman, was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, for treatment.

Maifadama said all through his stay at the settlement, over many years, he has never had any disagreement or misunderstanding with anybody or security operatives.

“In fact, neither I nor any of my children have engaged in any suspicious activities or quarrel with anyone let alone the security operatives.

“So I’m still wondering why the police and hunters will invade my house and kill three of my children,” he said.

He said he had already reported the incident, including handcuffs and live bullets abandoned at his house, to the Kabusa police division.

Maifadama, therefore, appealed to the FCT Police Commissioner, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, to investigate the matter and ensure that those behind the attack were brought to book.

He said he received the FCT chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Jibrin Wakili Madugu, alongside his secretary who paid a condolence to him last Thursday in the area.

Our reporter reliably gathered that the incident was a result of a reprisal attack over the killing of a Fulani vigilante member suspected of being an informant to the police in the area two weeks ago, in which they accused the children of the herder of being behind the killing.

Reacting, the Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Jibrin, also confirmed the incident and accused the police and Fulani vigilante of being behind the incident.

“In fact, I led my executives to pay condolence to Alhaji Maifadama over the killing of his children and we want to appeal to the FCT police commissioner to wade into the matter and unravel those behind the attack,” he said.

He said the remains of the children have been buried according to Islamic rites.

When contacted, the FCT police spokeswoman, SP Adeh Josephine, said she was not aware of the incident and asked our reporter to give her time to reach out to Kabusa police division for details and revert later.