The
devastating effect of the latest mass murder allegedly perpetrated by
killer herdsmen in Plateau state communities continues as a sad story of
a young man whose entire family were wiped out has been shared online.
Woman loses husband, 2 children, many other families bereaved too
For people in Plateau State, Saturday, June 23, 2018, would for
life remain a black day. It was a day that over 100 people were
massacred in several communities by Fulani killer-herdsmen.
From that day till date, 22-year-old Luka Benjamin, a native of
Gashish community, Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of the state, has
been wrapped with a blanket of anguish, sorrow and pain.
Though Luka survived the gruesome killings by the Fulani militia
armed with sophisticated weapons and machetes, 13 members of his family
perished in the early morning attack in Nghar village as the women,
children, and the aged were fast asleep.
The attack started in the afternoon of the previous day, about 3pm,
when mourners returning from the burial of a 90-year-old man, late Da.
Peter Jakawa at Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), RCC Gashish, were
ambushed and massacred in a hail of bullets that hit them like a million
raindrops in a sudden downpour.
Like individuals incarnated by the devil, the murderous Fulani
militia after what turned out to be the opening attack, moved into the
village proper in the cool of the night and set homes ablaze. As some of
the people rushed out in a bid to escape, they were mercilessly shot
dead or cut down with machetes.
That was how members of Luka’s family became numbered among the numerous dead victims.
Right now, Luka is helpless and hopeless; he is a living dead and a
walking corpse. At the burial of the dead family members, he was
overcome by grief as he watched the lifeless bodies of his relations
being lowered into one grave.
His wife, Esther, and their two children were burnt beyond
recognition; his father Benjamin and mother were shot to death and burnt
while his elder brother, Pam Benjamin and his wife, Sarah, and three
children were slaughtered and burnt including two younger sisters. Also
affected was his grandfather.
Though Luka survived without any injury, but he is overwhelmed by
intense pain as he wails profusely each time he recalls the memory of
the manner in which his wife and two children, who he had tried to save,
were killed with machete cuts.
His decision not sleep at home after the mourners were attacked and
killed in the nearby village was what saved him, otherwise he would
have been killed along with his family.
He opted to remain outside and keep vigil in the hope of giving
advance warning to the village. The attackers invaded Nghar village
unexpectedly as Luka and other vigilantes, who were also keeping vigil
worked hard to repel them. Sunday Sun learnt that other Fulani residing
in the area led and guided the attackers. The sheer number of the
invaders and their sophisticated weapons overwhelmed the vigilantes.
He watched helplessly as the Fulani gunmen rained hot bullets on his family and other victims in the village.
The cries for help of his wife, children and younger sisters will remain evergreen in his memory.
Luka is left in despair to start life all over again as all he
laboured for were wiped out within a twinkling of an eye. Today, he does
not have a roof over his head as his house and household property were
burnt with his family.
Recalling what happened during the horrible night of terror, he
told Sunday Sun, during a brief chat after the mass burial, that women,
children and the aged who survived the attack fled the village to
Heipang community at the Barkin-Ladi Local Government headquarters for
safety.
“I am weak, helpless and hopeless at the moment, I have never
seen a thing like this. Why must his attack happen at this point? Where
am I going now that I have nothing with me? I have lost all I laboured
for; my wife and children were my greatest assets and they were all
killed in a day.
“I lost my father, my mother, my wife, two children, my elder
brother, his wife with three children and two younger sisters besides
close friends and several relations in the attack.
“I survived by the grace of God when I was trying to assist my
wife and two children who eventually perished in the attack; the entire
13 members of my family were killed. The attack started from
neighbouring villages and we thought it would not come to our village
but we were taken by surprise.
“I can identify the people who carried out the attack, among
them are my neighbours; one of them is Babangida Shagari and Babangida
Ibrahim. I saw them leading the attackers. Children, women, the aged and
men were killed and burnt beyond recognition.
“I felt like taking my life when I saw the burnt corpses of my
wife, two children and numerous relations loaded in a vehicle for mass
burial which the military forced the community to do. Some of the
corpses were loaded in wheelbarrow, the village has been completely
destroyed, sacked and the Fulanis are ready to take over the land. I
prefer to have died than losing my wife, children and parents in that
manner, where will I start from, who do I go to now?”
The case of a 35-year-old Anna Ishaya, a mother of four, is equally
very pathetic. Luckily, she survived with her son, Mangai Ishaya, with
gunshots while trying to escape with the other children. She was caught
in the ambush of the mourners return- ing from the burial of the
nonagenarian.
Anna lost, her husband, Mr. Ishaya Adamu, two children and three
other women in the family, namely, Peace Yohanna, Rita James and
Deborah. But four-year-old Sarah, who was shot on her shoulder that
fateful day, is currently receiving medical attention at the University
of Jos Teaching Hospital.
Recalling that day of horror, Anna told Sunday Sun: “The
incident happened at Yalwa village in Gashish District of Barkin-Ladi
Local Government Area of the state about 1pm on that Saturday. I was
returning from a burial in a neighbouring village were people were
attacked and I narrowly escaped.
“Not up to 10 minutes after I returned home, I saw strange
people coming into the village and I drew the attention of an old blind
man who was later killed that Fulani had invaded the community.
“Shortly after that, I saw the Fulani taking cover in an
uncompleted build in the community. I raised alarm and called the
security to come and help. One of the military men, who is a Christian,
informed their commander and asked me to tell people to run for their
lives. I started screaming and calling my son and other people in the
village to run.
“Suddenly, gunshots were coming from different directions. The
security men were also running for their lives. The Fulani sighted me
running with my son, they came after us but they were shooting up, and
we were running and crawling on the ground.
"Luckily, we escaped but 67 persons were killed and hurriedly
buried that day. About 11 corpses including two pastors were recovered
on Sunday and they were also buried except the pastors who were
deposited at the mortuary of Jos University Teaching Hospital."
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