‘I pretended to be dead to escape from bandits’ – Survivor of Plateau attack

A survivor of an attack by suspected Fulani militias in Rantiya community of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State has narrated how he pretended to be dead to escape the attack. 

The survivor, Isaac Dung, who revealed this to DAILY POST in a telephone chat, said he had to feign death when the bandits struck the community on Thursday night. 

The terrorists had invaded the sleepy Rangarasa village in Rantiya, killing two vigilante operatives while injuring about 15 people in the process. 

Narrating his ordeal, Dung, a 37-year-old father of three, said he was going back home after closing from work when he noticed the bandits riding into the community on motorcycles. 

“I was going home after closing from work that day when I noticed the Fulani gang riding into our community on several motorcycles,” Dung recalled. 

“From a rough calculation, they were more than 100 because the motorcycles were many. Some had two, some had three on them. I immediately knew we were in trouble because they were all armed. 

“All of a sudden, they began shooting sporadically. It was like a war film. They were shooting at people while screaming Allah Akbar.

“Bullets were flying everywhere while people were running helter-skelter, trying to get into the bushes and rocks for safety. I have a bad leg, and I knew I would not be able to run fast enough before I was cut down. 

“The bandits were getting close, and I had to think up a survival instinct, and knowing I could not get away from them, I fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. Moments later, some of the bandits got close to where I lay, and I heard one of them tell the others, “arnen ya mutu” (the infidel is dead). Then they mounted their motorcycle and rode off. 

“When I was sure they had gone, I crawled into the bush where I hid for over five hours before I managed to find my way home. It was God and the survival instinct that saved me that night,” he stated.