By Musa Usman
No fewer than 99 lives have been lost to the recurring Fulani herdsmen attacks and cow rustling in Bassa and parts of Jos North
Local Government area of Plateau State, sharpedgenews.com can authoritatively reveal.
Victims of the sad occurrence have expressed various tales of woes, urging the appropriate authorities to intervene.
According to a victim in Bassa, Israel Gwom, who lost two fingers to the attackes, frequent assaults from the herdsmen has now become the lot of residents of the area.
“They will just come suddenly, usually in the night, shooting and burning houses,” a distraught Gwom lamented.
Speaking in the same vein, the vigilante head for the area and spokesman for Miango Youths Development Association, one of the affiliates of Irigwe Development Association, IDA, Mr. Abraham Jang, alleged that the attack was precipitated by agents of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Plateau State chapter.
He said, “No fewer than 26 villages were attacked, 99 people killed, 11 people injured, 863 houses razed down with food bans.”
He added that 347 farm produce worth millions of naira were equally mauled down and wasted.
This has been the tale of sorrow in Bassa, Jos North, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Riyom and some other Local Government Areas in recent times.
However, one the victims of the recent attack in Rafiki area of Bassa Local Government Area in Jos on March 14,2018 , Mr. Olusegun Olatunde Ola, who narrowly escaped death with his family members, narrated his experience when visited at the hospital where his wife was being admitted as a result of the attack by the herdsmen.
A distraught Ola said, “I just moved to the area, hoping to be protected from the constant crises in Jos town by the presence of the military barracks not far from my residence, but reverse is the case.
According to him, he too was made the vigilante head because of his perceived leadership qualities as attested to by the locals.
Ola, recounting his ordeal, said, “I was woken up by my neighbour who heard the herdsmen asking for the house of the vigilante head as sounds of gun shots boomed at the early hours of the day.
“I quickly rushed my family into the car and as I was about moving out, the Fulani herdsmen had come close and they blocked the car.
“They even tried opening the doors but couldn`t because they were locked from inside. One of them hit my wife on the head by breaking the passengers’ door glass with some metal he was carrying.
“At that point, I summoned the courage to drive my way in-between them, knowing full well that was the only option I had left or I and my family members would be dead.
“But God saved us’ I managed to pass through and on my way, I noticed that my wife was unconscious and had already passed out as a result of the attack. I had to rush her to this hospital for treatment.
“Later that day, I got the information that my house was burnt by the herdsmen with all our properties.”
Meanwhile, it will be recalled that Rafiki area in Bassa Local Government Area was one of the villages that was recently attacked by the herdsmen who reportedly engaged in killing spree. The gale of bloodletting in the area, according to eyewitnesses, had claimed no fewer than 120 lives in the last two months.
Specifically, the assailants had stormed the villages of Maifarin-Mota, Rafiki and Dung in the wee hours of the day, shooting at random and causing panic among residents, many who fled to nowhere in particular.
Scores were reported missing following the attacks while properties worth several millions of naira, including a church, were destroyed.
An army spokesman, Major Umar Adams, confirmed the attack, saying the military received a distress call from Rafiki and Dung, and sent men to the area. “I can’t give you an update until they return,” he informed.