Plateau Farmer’s Hand Chopped Off After He Refused To Help Herders Lift Fallen Cow | Sahara Reporters

The farmer, who spoke from a hospital bed, said the incident occurred while he and two women were returning from their farm.

A farmer in Plateau State has narrated how he was attacked by a group of herders who chopped off one of his hands after he refused to help them lift a cow that had reportedly fallen and become stuck.

The farmer, who spoke from a hospital bed, said the incident occurred while he and two women were returning from their farm.

In a video posted online by conflict reporter Masara Kim, the farmer was seen receiving medical treatment in a hospital, with one of his hands severely cut off.

He explained that the attackers initially approached him and asked him to help lift their cow, but he declined, explaining that he was the only man among the group and advised them to seek assistance from other farmers nearby.

According to him, the refusal angered the men, who began insulting him before chasing him with sticks and cutlasses.

He said he later discovered that the men had strategically positioned themselves along the route he and the two women were taking back home.

The farmer said the attackers subsequently ambushed them, beating one of the women on the head before he intervened in an attempt to rescue her.

Recounting the incident, he said: “We went to the farm on Friday. We got there and started farming. We continued working until it was time to eat. So, we stopped and went to eat.

“Then, a Fulani boy came to us. He came and told us that his cow had fallen down and asked us to help him get it up.

“I told him, ‘You can see that there are two women here, and I am the only man. There are some of our people down there. Go and find them and call them, then we can all come together and help you lift the cow.’

“But he refused. He insisted that we should come and help him lift the cow because he was afraid that the cow might die. He said that if the cow died, there would be a problem.

“Then, all of a sudden, he started insulting me. He raised a stick and a cutlass and started chasing me,” he said.

“But I had already noticed someone hiding there. If he had been alone, I would have confronted him, but I had already seen the person hiding there. So, I knew there were more of them.

“I ran away, and the women and I all ran. We went and found some people and then we returned to where we had been working. We were about eight in number.

“We came back because we wanted to go and help lift the cow. But when we got there, we could not find them.

“We stayed there for almost five minutes, but we still could not find them.

“It turned out that they had hidden somewhere and were watching the three of us from where we had separated. They had apparently gone in the direction they thought we would take. We did not know that they were hiding somewhere else.

“So, I told the women, ‘Our work is finished for today. Let us just go home.’

“As we left, everyone went their separate ways. We took our own route.

“Unknown to us, they went around and positioned themselves ahead of us. We thought they had either left or gone to try to lift their cow.

“We continued walking, and they made sure that we reached a point on the road where, if anyone screamed, other people would be able to hear and come.

“So, I waited on the road with the other woman while she went to get the firewood.

“While we were waiting, I suddenly heard screaming from the direction where she had gone to collect the firewood. They were beating her. They kept hitting her on the head.

“Before I could even understand what was happening, I lost sight of the other woman. I did not know which direction she had gone.

“So, I said I should go and check what was happening to my wife who was screaming.

“When I got there, I saw some people hiding there. One of them was beating her. He was hitting her on the head while she screamed and rolled on the ground.

“Another person from the other side then stopped the woman as she tried to run away. He wanted to chase her.

“I picked up a piece of wood from the ground. I hit him with it and confronted him.

“We struggled there. We fought each other there. I was also trying to protect myself so that I could get an opportunity to escape.

“We continued fighting and hitting each other with sticks at that point. It had not yet become a very serious fight.

“Then I heard the woman screaming. From what I could see, she had managed to escape and had run away.

“I was also trying to find a way to escape when another person from the side struck me here.

“After he struck me, I turned around to see who had hit me. Before I could understand what was happening, my hand had already been badly cut.

“After he cut me, our stick fell because of the force of the blow, and my entire hand was affected.

“I tried to hold it like this while walking backwards. Then I fell backwards.

“Then, suddenly, I heard someone screaming. There were also several other women nearby. They heard the screams from the women and started running and shouting.

“Because of the screaming, the attackers heard them and saw that people were already coming. They then ran away and left.

However, the farmer is currently receiving treatment for the injuries sustained during the attack.