The series of attacks on Plateau states continue with two recent attacks occurring on Thursday evening when four Fulani herdsmen were attacked and killed, and more recently a more violent strike killing 120 people and 50 houses burnt on Saturday puts Plateau in a critical state.
Plateau is the twelfth largest state in Nigeria and is located approximately in the center of the country.
The attack on Saturday was carried out on victims returning from the burial of a community leader, Pam Chollom, a pastor of the Church of Christ In Nations (COCIN) blamed it on Fulani herdsmen suggesting the killings were a form of retaliation of hundreds of cows killed allegedly by ethnic Berom youth.
Fulani people attacked our members who attended the burial of the father to one of our clergy Baba Jakawa, at Gidin Akwati, Gashis district. Late Jakawa was aged over 80 years, a committed member of COCIN, so his burial attracted many sympathizers. The armed Fulanis ambushed the sympathizers on their way back from the burial, attacked and killed 34 persons from Nekan village, 39 others from Kufang, and 47 people from Ruku village. As we speak with you, many others are still missing in the bushes. Pam Chollom shared with Premium Times.
An eye-witness, Masara Kim reported “The attack occurred a few meters away from a military checkpoint in Kafi Abu village. The attackers opened fire on the convoy of sympathizers and bullets hit a vehicle which I was traveling in, injuring one person. “At least four other travelers were critically wounded in different other vehicles. In one vehicle, the driver and another woman were shot in their legs. Another driver carrying over five passengers was shot in the arm, resulting in the car crash. All on board fled into the bushes amid heavy gunfire. The attackers by their looks were herdsmen.”
The Nigerian government has failed to deal with the constant attacks on the citizens of Plateau by herdsmen and other native terrorists which only pushes the narrative of the terrible governance occurring in the Federal Government, we can only hope in the coming weeks as more attention is given to the crisis occurring there’ll be a significant change in buffing up the security status of Plateau.
VIEWERS DISCRETION ADVISED: This is the situation in Jos right now, the villagers are attacking back killing fulanis on sight. This is sad and very disheartening #StopTheKillingsInPlateau@Gidi_Traffic@4eyedmonk@PulseNigeria247 pic.twitter.com/fTadsImEUw
— TRENDS OF NIGERIA (@TrendsOfNigeria) June 27, 2018
“The situation that led to the whisking away of the said Fulani people was a ‘chaos’ at Hiapang. I can authoritatively tell you that those who kidnapped the Fulanis are not Berom. Those who witnessed the scene said a Vectra car was on the trail of the vehicle conveying the Fulanis, only God knows from where?” the Berom leader told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.