A routine trip home from the farm turned into a nightmare for a farmer in Plateau State after he was allegedly ambushed and attacked by a group of herders, leaving one of his hands severely cut off.
The farmer, who is currently receiving treatment in a hospital, said the violence began after he refused to help a herder lift a cow that had reportedly fallen and become stuck.
Speaking from his hospital bed in a trending video, the farmer recounted how what started as a seemingly ordinary request quickly escalated into a violent confrontation that nearly cost him his life.
The video shared on Tick Tok by a Plateau – based conflicts reporter Masara kim Usman and did not indicate when the incident occurred.
The farmer claimed he was attacked and had his hand chopped off following a disagreement. The incident has sparked concern and renewed calls for peaceful coexistence and restraint between farming and herding communities.
He said he had gone to the farm on Friday with his wife and another woman.
After working for several hours, the trio stopped to eat before resuming their activities.
It was during this period, he said, that a Fulani boy approached them and asked for help with his cow.
“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.
The farmer said he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“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 (not) be able to hear and come.”
What happened next, he said, was the most terrifying part of the journey.
His wife had stopped briefly to collect firewood while he waited on the road with the other woman. Then he heard her screams.
“My wife said she wanted to quickly collect some firewood.
“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.
“After I fell, I had no strength left.
“He raised his weapon, and he was about to strike me again.
“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.
“That is how I survived.”
The farmer was subsequently taken for medical attention and remains in hospital, where he is being treated for injuries sustained during the attack.
His account, shared in a video posted online by conflict reporter Masara Kim, offers a harrowing account of how a journey from the farm became a fight for survival—and how the screams of nearby women may ultimately have saved his life.
