One of the survivors of the Plateau Massacre carried out by the Fulani Terrorists on over 27 villages, which took place on December 24, 2023, shared her ordeal in an exclusive interview with Parallel Facts. She explored how the military operatives at the nearest checkpoints dealt with the killings with negligence, citing lack of ammunition as the reason for their incapacity to fight off the terrorists.
Can you share with us what happened on the 24th of December, 2023, in Plateau?
On the eve of Christmas, that was on December 25, 2023, some of our people were in Reverend Jonathan’s house, who is the reverend in the Assemblies of God’s Church in NTV village, and suddenly, they heard three gunshots from another direction that was close to a checkpoint, and then one of them called to ask what was happening, but nobody responded, the next thing they saw like 50-30 motorcycles coming with light.
The community is structured in such a way that they all live together, close to a checkpoint. Towards the end of the community, there are settlers that live there, so when the motorcycles came in, there were massive gunshots from the direction where the settlers were.
Those that came to the reverend’s house preparing for Christmas Eve at the church were shot; even the glasses of the church was stained with blood
The Fulani terrorists came in from the settler’s direction and were shooting some. One could even see pool of blood from the victims who were trying to run
In that community, seven people were killed: one woman and two others; one was 10 year-old and the other was 5. Also, two siblings were killed. One was a student of Plateau State University, an old man in his 80’s and the Reverend himself. In total, they were 10 from NTV in particular while from mungo they were around 400 people that were killed. When attacks happened, they tried to run but the Fulani terrorists pursued and killed them.
One of the victim’s head was cut off. And after 2 days, the father was called to come and carry the dead body and he was buried. Meanwhile, men in the village had moved their wives and children to IDP camps after the attacks.
Also, attackers targeted the community’s food barns and all of them were burnt down. One could still see the remnant of maize, soya bean that they burnt down on ground.
Another person who shared her experience with me said he ran towards the checkpoint to tell the soldiers that his community is under attack, that they should come to their rescue but the soldiers said that they cannot come because they did not have ammunitions to engage the terrorists.
One of the victims said his mum was shot and he had to rush her to the hospital but she died 2 days after with her head and leg cut off.
What is the condition of NTV Community now?
There is a mining site that is close to the place, on our way out today, we noticed that there were Fulanis that are mining at the location. I took a video of it. But, main resident of the community had already gone, but you can see mining activities being carried out by the Fulani.
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The woman whose son was beheaded could recognize the person that came to carry her son’s dead body at the mining site. One could tell that their location is not too far; the Fulanis are stone throw away.
Would you say the attack is an offshoot of religious or ethnic cleansing?
I will say there is religious motivation to it, because the large population of the people that have died are Christians, from northern Kaduna to Plateau State, the attacks that have been launched are largely against Christians. So, yes, I would also say there is a religious motivation to it, and it’s clearly launched by Jihadist. It does not mean that there are no muslim. We saw saw few muslim at the IDP that have lived with the people for long and also affected when the killings happened, but their number is nothing close to what, if they are 4000 families, probably 1 or 2 among them are muslm families, largely they are Christian families. I’m saying this because it’s not just peculiar to that state, if you look at Benue state, Southern Kaduna people that are largely affected are largely Christians, so I would say that there is religious motivation to it.
I will also add that the situation in the Middle Belt is a case of ethnic cleansing and land grabbing. The genocide is clearly ethnic cleansing and land grabbing. I want to go further from plateau State and speak about southern Kaduna and speak about Benue state. So, what happens is that when attacks are been launched, let’s assume, it happens in Southern Kaduna and they kill people in their hundreds and nobody responds, after a couple of days you now see on the news that an Imam was killed in the location as well, to bend the picture that it is a reprisal attack or maybe people from this side have responded. You cannot tell me that you killed 400 people and they are response is to go and kill one Imam somewhere. Can the Fulani terrorist show a location where the middle belters have gone to also kill a large number of Fulani?
To buttress my point, some places like Gwale, which is now constitutionally called Barkin Ladi, a local government in plateau State, areas like Mahanga, Gwale, Garshi where the middle belters were the ones occupying these places, roughly 10 to 15 years ago, I can tell you for free that they are no longer there. Clearly, it is the work of the Fulani.
In fact, their member house of representatives, Hon. Peter Gedem was on one of the Tv Channels, he mentioned that they know the location of the Fulanis that are coming to kill. If this is the case, so, why is the government not going there to evacuate them. If they want us to go and point at the location, we’ll definitely do it. If the Fulani are residing there, the question is, what license do you have to occupy the land? Because in some instances, they come and kill, clear an entire community like in the case of Mahanga, bring their zincs and just roof the building and start staying there.
There are people in their forties or fifties that can still point at their houses today and tell you that was my house 15 to 20 years ago and were chased out of it. Because, currently in the Mangu IDP in a local Govt in Plateau State, we have over 4000 families that have been displaced that are living in the IDP.
There was an NGO that recently went ahead to donate items to them, and they gave a couple 100 bags of rice, I don’t know the figure, but it was one cup of rice that reached each family. So even when you go to the IDP camps the condition is crazy, it’s just about that people are suffering, these are people that had houses. So after a while the Fulanis come and occupy their lands and then begin to live and farm there like nothing ever happen.
So, what we are asking is to evacuate them from the land, if they have any documents showing that this is their ancestral land, by all means they should bring it. But our people still have evidences showing they own the land; the land belongs to them.
What do you think will happen if government fails to rise to this occasion now?
So, like in the case of what is happening in NTV currently, what will happen if nothing is being done is give them some months, those men will be killed; the ones that are left there will be killed and the women and the children will now remain in the IDP camps. The men that live there will be killed, because they are less than 50 that are in the community. Those that are scared have relocated; some are in the IDP camps, some are dead. The very few that are left will try to defend the land with the very last of their blood, then they will be killed.
When they are killed eventually, give it another 6 months to 1 year you come and find Fulani people living there. As a matter of fact, Mangu has 96 villages, currently 46 have been attacked, that means, close to the half of the villages and the attack is still going on. So, when you hear that 4000 families have been displaced, it’s because almost half of the local government has been attacked and displaced, so it’s a very pathetic situation.
What necessary strategies government could take to reduce the attack?
The first thing is that this people should be given a name; they are to be called terrorists and this has to be called ethnic cleansing. Because part of the reason why there is no intervention and the international community is turning a blind eye to this, is because the government is painting the picture as if it were a Farmer-herders clash. How can one ethnic group be having a farmer-herders clash in Southern Kaduna, having a Farmer-herders clash in all 8 local government in Plateau State, having Farmer-herders clash in Benue. Then the problem is the government clearly. So, first of all they have to be called terrorist, they have to be given the name.
And I think that is where the United Nations and other international organizations have a moral duty to come in, because they pretty much have the terms for definition or for defining terrorist and I think the international community is not doing enough to label this people as terrorist, it’s clear what’s happening.
Secondly, I think the government have the moral duty of evacuating individuals who are there because if two siblings are fighting for example or if two people rather are fighting, one person just want to exist and be alive and the other person is insisting that the other person must die, there is nothing you can do to keep them together. No matter what happens one person must always insist that for some desired reason the other person deserves to die and this is exactly what is happening.
And when we began to mention negotiations, they made it clear to us that they are not against negotiations, but every time they are set for negotiations, there will be an attack on them. Let’s say Saturday is a negotiations day, on Friday evening they will come and kill some of them. So, the people we are talking about do not even want negotiations. What they want is to come and grab the land, occupy the land and have their ethnic cleansing to just wipe away certain group of people from the earth surface.
What is the condition of the community attacked?
Currently, the NTV community is like a graveyard, no women, no children; they have all moved to the IDP camps, some few men are still there.
What would you suggest the terrorists are looking for in those over 27 villages they attacked?
Regardless of their religion and their ethnic group and culture, if they provide evidences that the lands belong to them or they have ancestral claim to the land, we are very hospitable in the middle belt they are welcome to stay and be a part of us and live among us. But we cannot have claims to a land and have documents with us showing that the land belongs to us and you come and occupy the land and the government is just there watching them, in that case the govt is either colliding with the terrorist for ethnic cleansing or the govt is claiming they don’t know what’s happening or that they are incapacitated.
How are you keeping yourself safe?
Since I started speaking about ethnic cleansing, I have had series of threats from different people. Some cases where people offered some money for whoever knew my location, people have called on if I should be killed already. There have being negative comments about me.
For now, I’m just trying to stay safe, I have tried my best not to disclose my location to anyone and just be as discreet as possible because in some instances I have had people call me out. I know their eyes are all over the place trying to look for where I am.
As a people we are not even asking for ammunitions or revenge, we are asking for justice and the term justice is defined to us as evacuating the terrorists from our locations. We just want to farm our people are largely farmers. Over land is fertile and we are farmers, If you ask an average Middle Beltan, they just want to farm and mind their thing, but to say that you will not let me farm, not let me exit even in the IDP camp is even worse.
So we are calling on the federal government if at all they are not colluding with the terms to come and cleanse us as a people, can they evacuate the terrorists who have occupied the land illegally? The ones who are there legally are very much welcome to stay.
We are not even asking for money or compensation, what we want is to exit and be able to live freely, cook and eat. So, we are pleading with the federal government if you are not colluding with the terms by all means, please, evacuate them let the 4000 families who are displaced return to their land.