The alleged killing of one person and rustling of 500 heads of cattle almost undermined a peace parley organised by Special Task Force, STF, maintaining security in Plateau State, yesterday, as news of the development heightened tension among participants.
.
The STF had organised the parley among Fulani & locals in Shendam in a bid to end the upsurge of violence in the Southern Senatorial District of the state, which has resulted in the killing of scores of people and the displacement of thousands. Commander of STF, Major General Henry Ayoola, was making his speech on the need to end the hostilities when information filtered into the venue that one person was killed and hundreds of cattle stolen at Longvel in the area.
The news unsettled some of the participants as they moved up and down the venue trying to get details of the reported incident.
.
It was learnt that the cattle rustlers invaded the village in large numbers, shooting into the air to scare residents before forcefully taking the cattle away.