Plateau Killings: How Our Attackers Sang Song Of Victory While Shooting At Us–Survivors Narrates Their Ordeals

Yakubu Busari

Victims of the recent gunmen attack in Ncha Community of Plateau State have narrated their ordeals, as the member representing Rukuba/Irigwe in Plateau State House of Assembly ,Hon Simon Kudu and an All Progressive Congress (APC),chieftain, Hon Jock Alamba have described the murder as unfortunate killing that took place .

Hon Kudu said; “I was called by my legislative aide, Jimmy Mark that there has been a fresh attack in Ncha where several lives of children ,women and Youth were lost which they said suspected Fulani herders are alleged to be the masterminds.

He explained; “we got information from the neighboring settlement that their corpses had been evacuated to Miango Hospital and some were taken to Jankwano, Plateau Specialist Hospital and Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH and they five survivors are responding treatment.

At the Bingham Teaching Hospital, the two kids who were among the persons that survived gunshots one of them who had brain surgery came out successful after several hours’ battle by doctors to save his life.

Hon. Kudu told our reporter that one of the kids has many gunshots on him as his skull was completely outside yet he was still breathing, while the second kid broke his legs.

The member said he immediately move to the scene to witness the dastardly act of inhumanity to a fellow man by another man.

According to him, the Paramount ruler of Irigwe, Baran Irigwe expressed sadness that this killing was an act of genocide against his subject in order to wipe away the younger generation.

The member said that he led the Royal father for mass burial which was conducted with church service for the souls of the departed.

He led a delegation to console the aggrieved people over the demise of innocent civilians whose fate were cut short by suspected Fulani herders in a revenge mission.

Kudu stressed further that the attackers were well trained because the heavy gun shots were sporadic and security personnel couldn’t promptly response to that as he urged and appeal that government should take serious action.

He decried over the security personnel refusal to take proactive action until when the damage was done that they rushed their vehicles to the scene as very sad.

Hon Simon Kudu called on the people to be conscious of strange movement of suspected persons and report to law enforcement agencies, adding those people who perpetrated the heinous crime are leaving within the community, so as to establish surveillance towards exposing the culprits.

He said; “Government should arrest them and bring them to book to serve as punishment because when those who committed the act are not punished, a lot of them would continue.”

“Peace is gradually returning to the state after several years of civil unrest but is still fragile, we have relative peace.”

Narrating their ordeals one of the victims, Master Ishaya said; “They killed my brother and wife and kept their sleeping child (8 months old) on their corpses.

“I quickly picked him and ran into the bush because I knew if he woke up and cry, they might come back for us because they might have left him thinking he was dead,” Master Emmanuel Ishaya said.

Emmanuel’s mother, Mrs. Lami Ishaya was killed in a room, adjacent that of Emmanuel after the attackers broke down their door by kicking it.

They first smashed an aluminum pot by the door containing freshly prepared gruel.

They used machetes to butcher them and their two kids sleeping in the same room.

Other children, as their father, Ishaya were traced to other rooms outside the parents’ building and killed.

In another house, the attackers slew three kids and a 16year old SS1 student of a government secondary school in the area.

The student was shot in his room where he was sleeping along with his brother when the attackers came and kicked the door open.

His brother who was still nervous and speechless when this platform visited escaped by climbing the roof and hanging upon the rafters.

When they entered, he said they shot his brother who was running helplessly in the room, with no escape route as the room had no window.

Parents of the other three slain kids, Mr. and Mrs. Barry John were sleeping in a room few foots away from their kids’ which share walls with that of the slain SS1 student.

They reported that they heard gunshots and voices of their dying kids being hacked down but were helpless.

Mrs. John said her husband wanted to go to their rescue but she disallowed him persuading him to go out through the window.

He left the room minutes before the attackers gained access after killing the kids and wounding three others in the compound, including an aged woman.

“When they were done, they sang songs of victory before moving to the next compound,” Mrs. John said.

“They were singing in Fulani language and I couldn’t pick the words but I believe they were celebrating because they sounded happy as they sang and fired shots in the air,” she recalled.

Mr. John’s family in all lost over 10 members in different houses in the same pattern of attacks, it was learnt.

Those killed in the village totaled 21 according to statistics collected by this platform but Police say the corpses were 19.

This platform got its statistics by going on a house-to-house data collection when it arrive the village few minutes after the mass burial of the victims.

The figure does not include an attack on two young men near GSS Miango, some kilometers away from Ancha.

They were reported to have been shot on a bike by gunmen believed to be the same Ancha attackers when they (youths) ran into them (Fulani) on their way out of the village.

One of the affected died on the spot while the other was still missing as at the time of filing this report.

The attackers are believed to have fled towards the Rukuba barracks in Miango through a military checkpoint near the scene of the attack of the youths on bike.

No security intervention was however accessed until the arrival of police from Jos hours after the attackers had fled.

Meanwhile, a group, Middle belt Value and a German-based Nigerian IT Specialist, Dr. Daniel Kutchin has attributed the growing insecurity in the country to government’s failure.

According to the Middlebelt group, the Nigerian army’s recent announcement of the return of operation python dance in the South East was a misplacement of priority.

“Why send an army against defenceless citizens instead of against killers?

“Why is it difficult for the powerful Nigeria army to stop Fulani Herdsmen? “It said in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Mike Akatu and three others.

Dr. Kutchin said in an interview, “No true peace and economic security can be realized without perceiving the rule of law and protecting lives and property.

“It is the duty of the Government and Governments must stand to be measured by how the protect everyone in the community in which they administer.”

The Nigerian Police had announced the deployment of operatives in the affected village to forestall further breakdown of law.

It has however not announced any arrest, but the commencement of investigations into the crime.

Many similar cases in the past where securities announced investigations mostly ended in silence, whether this is going to end in like manner, only time will tell.