Silent night, bloody night: How terrorists brought mourning to Plateau communities on Christmas eve

ISAAC SHOBAYO tells the story of terrorist attacks that brought sorrow to families in Plateau communities in a season that was meant to be celebratory.

The general expectation of the people of Plateau State, particularly the inhabitants of Mangu, Bokkos, and Barakin-Ladi local government areas of the state, was to have a blissful Yuletide in a peaceful and serene atmosphere. This was, however, cut short by rampaging terrorists, otherwise referred to as gunmen, who have been holding parts of the state by the jugular for quite some time.

In a commando-style operation, the gunmen suspected to be mercenary killer herdsmen launched simultaneous and coordinated attacks on 12 communities in the three local government areas on Christmas Eve, while the people were still in their beds.

In Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) alone, the following 12 villages and communities were attacked: Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat, and Butura Kampani village. Another three communities in Barkin-Ladi LGA, namely NTV, Hurum, and Darawat, were wasted.

At a sweep, no fewer than 160 people, mostly children and women, were gruesomely murdered, and many sustained injuries of various degrees of severity. Findings from the assessment of the ugly incidents in Bokkos alone revealed that apart from those killed and injured, 221 houses were set ablaze, 27 motorcycles were burned, and eight motor vehicles were burnt down by marauders.

It was a night of agony. A resident of Ngyong, Istifanus Musa, who lost his wife and two children, said the gunmen arrived in the community on bikes at about 11:00 p.m on Sunday and opened fire at random on their residences when most of whom had gone to bed, adding that many were either shot or hacked to death.

According to him, his family of seven fled in different directions but discovered on Monday, which was Christmas day, that his wife and two children, ages 7 and 10, had been killed by the invaders.

A cross-section of those who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in some of the affected and neighbouring communities posited that it was a tale of agony and mourning on Christmas day.

The chairman of Bokkos Council, Mr Monday Kassam, explained that it was a planned attack that was difficult to repel in all the affected communities. He added that it was carried out the same time and lasted the same period of time.

Kassam said it was an unprovoked attack as the people of the affected communities had no issue or problems with anyone to warrant such a deadly attack unleashed on them.

“As at the last count no fewer than 160 people were killed. Those that lost their lives were given mass burial in their various villages. But there are cases of missing people whose whereabouts are unknown after the incident. It was a clear case of unprovoked attack because there was no issue on ground or cases of misunderstanding prior to the incident. We simply don’t know where this is coming from,” he lamented.

A victim of the incident presently receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) said the people suddenly noticed an influx of people suspected to be Fulani terrorists in their community.

“For me and my family in particular, we were woken up by the sporadic gunshots that rented the air. Though my wife and three children escaped unhurt, I was shot in the thigh and had to crawl to a safe place to hide. Virtually all the houses, vehicles, and motorcycles were set on fire before they disappeared,” he said.

Mr Alfred Makut, a civil servant who lost seven of his relations, said the family is still devastated, dazed and yet to come to terms with the reality of the incident. Makut, who said the seven were murdered in cold blood by the attackers, added that after they were shot at close range, they were cut in several places to make sure that they were dead.

According to him, there were also cases of underage children between the ages of five and 10 who were shot and now receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and other hospitals in the state capital.

Nigerian Tribune’s findings revealed that the destruction left behind were colossal. Pastor Wilfred Danjuma, whose village at Tamiso in Bokkos Local Government Area was completely razed down and people killed, said the trauma of the incident will be difficult to put behind the survivors. He added that the attack was carried out in a very heartless manner.

“There were instances where minors were shot without regard to their ages. The attackers were out for total annihilation for possible land grabbing,” he said.

It was the same gory incident in three communities in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area, where 18 people were killed and properties destroyed. The National President of Berom Youth Moulders, Solomon Dalyop, who described it as a terrorist attack on innocent people of the council, said the nature of the attack was similar to guerilla warfare.

According to him, the incident was similar to the June 23 to 24, 2018 incident where over 200 people were killed and rendered homeless by the Fulani terrorists in a midnight operation, adding that the attack in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas were well-coordinated and took place simultaneously in all the affected villages and communities at the same time.

At the moment, Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that most of the villages and communities affected have been abandoned as the survivors have relocated with majority of them at the internal displaced people’s (IDP) camp.

 

Early warning signals

However, quite a lot of people have been wondering why the security could not nip the incident in the bud despite repeated early warning signals of an impending attack. The chairman, Plateau Civil Society Forum, Reverend Chris Damcher, alleged that there was an early warning signals of security threats posted on social media before the attacks on Bokkos and Barakin-Ladi.

Dalyop corroborated this as well, saying there was a warning of security threat and it was sent to appropriate quarters before the attack.

“As it is common with most of the attacks meted on communities, there is often early warning security alerts circulated on social media.

“I’m fully convinced that such information usually gets to the security agencies and relevant authorities. But I am so worried and saddened that each time such planned attacks by same so-called militia are circulated, their plans are usually executed to a huge extent unchallenged,” Reverend Damcher alleged.

 

Natives and Fulani in blame game

Meanwhile, the natives and the Fulanis have been trading blame over the carnage. While the latter was trying to absolve itself from the act, the former insisted that those who unleashed terror on the people were killer herdsmen.

The chairman, Plateau State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Mallam Mohammad Nuru Abdullah alleged that the security operatives led an operation against his people on a Christmas day leading to the death of 25 Fulanis. In a swift response, Dalyop challenged the MACBAN leader to provide the corpses of his members killed.

Presently, there is a massive displacement of people from the affected communities, the humanitarian crisis is alarming, people have lost thier loves ones and therefore need trauma counselling.

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