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By 247ureports.com
Maryam Yusuf Bayaro, Woman Leader of CODEKO’s Plateau State chapter and a member of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), has accused the Plateau State Government of collecting tax on every cow sold at the Bukuru Kara cattle market while failing to protect pastoralists from repeated harassment, killings and stereotyping.
247ureports.com could not independently verify the full content or context of Bayaro’s remarks, which is reflected below with that caveat; what is independently confirmed is the alarming and well-documented pattern of violence specifically targeting traders and herders travelling to and from that same market in recent weeks.
A Market Under Siege
The Kara Bukuru Livestock Market, in Jos South Local Government Area, has become a recurring flashpoint for deadly attacks on those who depend on it for their livelihood. On September 20, five Fulani herders were killed near Kassa in Barkin Ladi LGA while returning from the market. On October 4, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying traders at Yelwa Club Junction near Bukuru, killing two herders and injuring six, in an attack MACBAN said occurred around 5:30 p.m. as victims travelled from the market toward Bassa LGA. Just days later, on October 5, a separate attack on a vehicle carrying traders from the same market killed one person — identified as Musa Abubakar — and injured seven others, in an incident the Plateau State Police Command confirmed occurred around 4:30-7 p.m. near Bukuru Low-Cost area. MACBAN also noted a previous attack near the Conoil Filling Station on the same route in December.
MACBAN’s Response
MACBAN’s chairman, Babayo, has repeatedly called on the Plateau State Government, the Nigeria Police Force, Operation Safe Haven and the Department of State Services to strengthen security specifically along the Kara Bukuru market route, describing the recurrence of these attacks as having created fear and insecurity among “law-abiding pastoralists and traders who depend on the market for their livelihood.” In a statement, the association added: “The continuous attacks on innocent herders are unacceptable. No Nigerian should be attacked or killed because of his or her ethnic background or occupation,” while affirming MACBAN’s commitment to peaceful coexistence through justice, fairness and equal protection for every citizen regardless of ethnicity or occupation.
Government Response
The Plateau State Government, through Commissioner for Information Joyce Ramnap, has condemned the attacks as “sad and unacceptable” and directed security agencies to investigate the identities and motives of those responsible, while calling on communities, traders and pastoralists to remain calm and resist attempts to deepen divisions. Separately, suspected gunmen also attacked a vigilance service duty post in Mangor, Bokkos LGA, around the same period, killing two vigilance officers and injuring three others — part of a broader wave of violence across multiple Plateau LGAs this month.
What’s Unresolved
As of this report, 247ureports.com has not located official confirmation or denial from the Plateau State Government specifically addressing Bayaro’s tax-related allegation, nor independent data on the volume or use of any tax collected at the Bukuru Kara market. Her broader complaint of stereotyping and insufficient protection, however, lands amid an undeniable and escalating pattern of fatal attacks on market-goers using that specific route.
