Hundreds of lives have been lost to the Plateau Christmas Eve terrorist attack believed to have been launched by Fulani herdsmen targeting the Christian community in the north-central region of Nigeria.
Gunfire swept through Bokkos and neighbouring villages, particularly Magan, Mangur, Tangur and Butura, with gunshots displacing families and friends, killing couples and injuring children on the Sunday night of December 24.
@Nayooomee1, a graduate from Plateau State University, Bokkos, Plateau State, Nigeria, shared a WhatsApp conversation she had with a survivor of the dangerous attack on her X handle on December 28.
The chat says that “Fulanis attacked a nearby village and killed 18 people last night (December 24), [sic] they opened fire on people in church earlier”, adding that “[n]ow they (Fulani herders and Hausa farmers) are exchanging fire”.
@Nayooomee1, who believed that the attack was carried out by nomadic Fulani pastoralists, recounted how “these people broke into the girls hostel and opened air theatre” when she was still an undergraduate at Plateau State University raping some of them.
“When I was in school (Plateau State University), so many nights we wouldn’t sleep cause of these attacks. Our exams will be moved, we can’t [sic] even do night reading in school cause of fear. What am I saying, these people broke into girls hostels and open [sic] air theatre,” she said.
“[The Fulanis] [r]aped girls and guess who drove them away, [sic] guys from their hostel. Guess what [sic] there were soldiers in that environment that always came after the attacks. Same pattern every time. We’re tired and done. Leave our land for us.”
The Fulani hegemony was established by Uthman dan Fodio in northern Nigeria and Fulani pastoralists started migrating into northern Nigeria from the Senegambia region around the thirteenth or fourteenth century. After the Uthman dan Fodio jihad, the Fulani became integrated into the Hausa culture of northern Nigeria.
Fulani pastoralists began to drive their cattle into the north-central returning to the north west and east at the onset of the rainy season. But while managing the herd and driving cattle, cattle grazing on farmlands sometimes occurs, leading to destruction of crops and resulting in a conflict with Hausa farmers.
‘A GREAT TRAGEDY, HARVEST OF DEATH’
The governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, in an interview on Arise TV described the tragic incidents in the state as “a great tragedy” sprawling “harvest of death”.
Mutfwang emphasised that the crises had nothing to do with religion or farmer-herder clash, adding that “it’s pure criminality, pure terrorism and gruesome murder”.
“This has nothing to do with farmer-herder clash,” he said. “It has nothing to do with religion. It is pure criminality, pure terrorism and gruesome murder on the eve of a revered day of remembrance. It is quite unfortunate but we will continue this engagement (with the police) and also explore other ways by which we can be able to put this situation under control.”
WikkiTimes, through Google Earth satellite imagery, got contacts of villagers, some of them displaced into the towns, heavily impacted by the deadly attack or clash between the farmers and the herders.
One Tangur villager, who owns Yonny’s Store which is 3.81km away from the village, situated along Bokko-Mushere-Mongun-Panyam Road, said that his shop in the town was not affected but that some of his relatives in the village got killed.
“Not really. My shop was not affected. Only the villages were affected by the attack. I’m presently in the town. Tangur is my village. They killed some of my relatives. Bokkos Nigerian Police are not affected because I’m too close to that place. The general hospital inside the town too is not affected, just the villages around,” the Tangur villager said.
Another villager, who is the owner of Excel Global Enterprise, situated at Tudu, Bokkos Local Government Area, which is 3.85km away from Tangur village, when asked if he was affected by the killing, said, “not really, not directly”.
“I’m situated in the town, so it’s most relatives and families in the village that got affected. I’m basically in Bokkos town. The neighbouring villages were affected, their parents and siblings, and others like that. But personally myself, I was not affected, aside from the shutdown that normally affects business. There are still threats on the ground and rumours of letters being sent around and other things like that. We are still watching and praying at the same time. I have not been able to do business as usual. The divisional police are still up and running. We have not heard any casualties from the security side. But the security operatives are outnumbered. The whole region, Bokkos region, I doubt if they have about 200 policemen on the ground,” he added.
Meanwhile, a pharmacist villager whose auntie’s husband got killed in Manga village told WikkiTimes that he could not but open his shop to sell drugs to victims of the fatal attack coming all the way from villages to towns for survival. He is the owner of Morel Pharmacy & Stores, situated at Bekkos-Mushere-Mongun-Panyam Road, which is about 3.94km from Tangur village.
“I was indirectly affected. My auntie’s house was burnt down and her husband was killed in Manga village. It’s villages they attacked mostly; they didn’t attack any town. Shops in the town were not affected. The Nigerian police division in Bokko have tried their best. There are no casualties in the town. However, there are some villagers hospitalised in the General Hospital Bokkos while others in the private hospitals in the town. There’s fear and tension in people. There’s movement in the town but there’s hardly any movement in the villages, especially those places attacked. Some of the places have been burnt down, so there are no people. They ran for safety here in the town, some in Jos, and others anywhere they could find safety. I opened shop today to help the victims in the town; some of them come to me to buy drugs,” he said.
‘STUNNING FAILURE OF THE NIGERIAN AUTHORITIES TO END THEM’
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Friday, December 29, visited Plateau State following attacks on 25 communities by gunmen on Christmas Eve, which left over 150 persons dead.
According to a report by The Punch, Egbetokun disclosed that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police Zone 4, Haladu Musa, had been directed to temporarily relocate his office to Plateau State to ensure an effective operation.
“We have commenced a special operation in this state, and I have directed the DIG in charge of Zone 4 to relocate to Plateau. We are committed to ending this circle of violence in Plateau, and we call on communities not to be collaborators in this evil act. Citizens should rather cooperate with the police and other security agencies so that we can deal with these criminals once and for all,” he said.
Reacting, the Amnesty International Nigeria said incessant killings ravaging northern Nigeria throughout 2023 was the “stunning failure of the Nigerian authorities to end them and bring suspected perpetrators” which “continues to be a threat to the right to life nationwide”.
“The attacks on Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi and Mangu LGA of #Plateau state have been causing massive displacement. Majority of the people in these communities depend on farming for their livelihoods, but they are now too afraid to go to their fields. The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the incessant violent attacks on villages of #Plateau state, but the fresh attack, tension and mounting death toll tells a different story. These killings must stop immediately,” it said.
