MACBAN alleges DSS operatives shot dead 13-year-old herder Abubakar Sadi during an operation to disperse grazing herders in Dakun, Riyom LGA, Plateau State. Security agencies say they will investigate.
Riyom, Plateau State — August 20, 2026
Tension is rising in parts of Plateau State following the alleged killing of a 13-year-old herder, Abubakar Sadi, in Dakun community, Riyom Local Government Area, amid an intensified security presence deployed specifically to prevent clashes between farming and herding communities in the area.
According to Bello Adamu, Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Riyom, the teenager was shot dead while grazing cattle between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Soldiers, Department of State Services (DSS) operatives, and mobile policemen have all been stationed in the Riyom area in recent weeks in response to repeated farmer-herder clashes.
Community leader Ibrahim Chiroma said the shooting occurred while local leaders were holding a peace meeting with the youth leader of Jol, a meeting that was interrupted by gunshots, prompting participants to rush toward the scene. Chiroma said that on arrival, they found DSS personnel in the process of dispersing herders who had been grazing in the area, and that the group recovered Sadi's body from the scene.
According to community accounts, residents subsequently contacted the unit's commander, who denied any involvement in the killing. This account has not been independently corroborated by security agencies.
Both the DSS and the spokesperson for Operation Enduring Peace said they had no immediate knowledge of the specific incident but pledged to investigate the allegation. As of this report, no security agency has accepted responsibility for the shooting, and MACBAN's account remains an unverified allegation pending the outcome of any formal inquiry.
The incident adds a combustible new dimension to Riyom LGA, which has already recorded a string of contested attacks this year, including the disputed Bangai and Tanjol killings, where MACBAN and Berom youth groups have repeatedly traded blame, as well as the August 4 killing of a police inspector and Air Force corporal, and the killing of three vigilante brothers on night patrol days later.
An allegation of security-force involvement, even unconfirmed, risks further eroding trust between herding communities and the state's security apparatus at a moment when that trust is already under severe strain following the Mangu killings.
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