I’ve seen five families wiped out in Plateau attacks — Berom youth leader

Resident of Kum and spokesperson for the Berom Youth Moulders- Association, Rwang Tengwong, tells BIODUN BUSARI how gunmen invaded Kum and Wereng-Camp communities in Plateau State and killed nine members of a family

Are you a member of the Kum or Wereng-Camp community?

I’m a native of Kum. I’m the National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association. It’s the youth wing of the Berom Nation. Our association stands as a voice against socio-cultural issues affecting the Berom Nation, both in Plateau State and beyond. We are not only in Nigeria, but we also have branches outside Nigeria where Berom people reside.

A group of bandits recently invaded two communities, including Kum, and killed nine members of a family in your community. How did the incident happen?

The communities attacked by gunmen were Kum and Wereng-Camp. The areas were attacked simultaneously on Saturday night, precisely around 11:30pm, and the attack lasted for an hour into the early hours of Sunday morning.

The attackers came in large numbers, and that was after they attempted to attack another community and failed. Then they moved to the two other communities and came to a house on the outskirts of one of them, surrounded the house, and killed nine people.

Are you saying a family was wiped out?

Yes, or let me say almost, because only one family member escaped from that attack, and that person is currently receiving treatment in the hospital after sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Among the nine persons who were killed was a three-month-old baby. Her mother and father were among the victims because the family was an extended one. The father had a son who had grown up and got married. The son was 21 years old and married to a 19-year-old lady. The newborn who was killed was their first child.

Why was one family attacked?

They attempted to attack the next house, but it is a trend that is not new on the Plateau because it was not the first time a family had been attacked and wiped out completely. How attackers operate is that when they get to a community and see that a house is vulnerable—not well protected and with weak doors—all they do is break into the house and kill the occupants.

Then, they move on. I am talking about as far back as 2009. I have witnessed more than five families wiped out in attacks.

What was the motive for wiping out a whole family?

There’s no motive or justification for any form of criminality. In most cases, we’ve never heard any reason why they come to attack. Rather, what we have witnessed over the years on the Plateau is that when they come, they kill, and people flee their communities. The next thing is that the people whom the government has always claimed to be behind these killings are described as unknown gunmen.

In the end, we have over 130 communities in Plateau State where, after killings occur and locals flee, a new set of people comes to occupy the communities. These new occupants are Fulani. Whenever they occupy a community, it becomes a no-go area for the original inhabitants.

So, there is no justification whatsoever. We’ve had incidents where cooked-up stories are told. They will tell you that the attacks happened because their cattle were rustled. In Nigeria, if we know the law and agree that there is a law governing us, then if something is stolen, the law requires it to be reported to the police.

But what we witness are criminals invading communities and killing people. There have also been cases where some Fulani claim that their cattle were rustled. But at the end of the day, you’ll find out that it was a fellow Fulani who rustled the cattle.

You will find that there have also been cases where a Fulani person was killed, and allegations were made against natives. But at the end of the day, investigations still pointed out that it was fellow Fulani who killed their own kinsmen. Yet, when such happens, the next thing is that allegations are made against the natives.

Going back to the incident, how did the community come to the aid of those attacked during the incident?

There are vigilantes within the community and neighbouring communities. But when I spoke with one of the vigilantes, the first thing he told me was that the person who sustained injuries and is currently in the hospital was the one who screamed to alert them.

They made efforts to go to the houses. But you and I know that vigilantes don’t have the weapons to combat these criminals who bear sophisticated weapons. We should first ask ourselves whether the constitution stipulates anything about self-defence. If today I say I will defend myself with a Dane gun, I must secure a licence from the government, which they may not even give me.

But attackers come with sophisticated weapons, which at the very least might be guns. Now, you don’t expect me to say that I’m defending myself with a machete against someone who has an AK-47. So, when we talk about self-defence in the Nigerian Constitution, those are the questions we should ask in our arguments.

Even the Plateau State Government will tell you that a state security outfit registered as far back as 2008 or 2009, Operation Rainbow, has not been licensed by the Federal Government to acquire arms, so how will vigilantes arm themselves?

How have the police helped in this situation?

For conventional security, it is quite unfortunate that no arrests have been made. So, it becomes difficult for us to understand, as people in Plateau State, whether the government is sincere in dealing with issues of insecurity or not.

Most times, the funny thing about these bandits or gunmen is that they come on motorbikes, and one should ask how they were not stopped at security checkpoints on the outskirts. When you are entering Jos from Abuja, there is a security checkpoint you pass before getting there. It’s not up to 1,000 metres from where the attack took place.

Right behind that community, I think less than 500 metres away, there is another security checkpoint. To the best of my knowledge, there was no response or arrest by the security operatives.

After the attack, the least the security agencies should have done was to assess the situation, but nothing has been heard about it. In fact, the police in Plateau have not even made any statement regarding this attack. The Joint Task Force in the state has also not made any statement regarding the attack.

Has another incident happened since the previous one?

Just yesterday (Monday), two incidents happened. Two communities were attacked. In one of the communities, one person was killed. In a community close to that area, on Sunday, we witnessed the mass burial of 90 persons. That community was attacked, and two people were injured.

But as we speak today (Tuesday), the JTF was in that community because Fulani had reported that their cattle were shot. So, they came to arrest people over cattle that were allegedly shot in the community. But they have not made any effort to arrest those who came to kill the locals.

The reason the security operatives were there was that Fulani people reported that their cattle had been attacked and shot. So, they came to arrest youths in that community.

As a resident and youth leader, what is your suggestion for addressing this issue?

The attacks on the Plateau started even before Boko Haram emerged. Let me tell you: Boko Haram had a testing ground on the Plateau, and it was not mitigated. It later moved its operations to the North-East. When bomb attacks started occurring here and there on the Plateau, the Nigerian government still interpreted them as farmer-herder clashes.

How can a clash involve bombs? How can you interpret a situation as a farmer-herder clash when someone is sleeping, and another person comes to kill him and wipe out his entire family? How is that a clash? If we may ask the Nigerian government, what are they clashing over? If you’re telling me there is a clash, then it means there is something both parties are contesting.

We have foreigners from neighbouring countries in Plateau State who are affecting the Nigerian state. I have said that there is a route in the state that allows people from the Niger Republic to come directly into Jos without passports. Until we give the issue the nomenclature it deserves, there will be no solution.

You cannot be battling malaria and taking paracetamol. It started in Plateau State and extended to other Middle Belt states, and recently, you can see it in the South-West. What are these terrorists or bandits fighting for? It is the expansion of territories. That’s why if they kill our people, they settle on their land.

The Nigerian government has done nothing to resettle displaced people. There are people who have been displaced since 2004 on the Plateau and have not been resettled. They’ve been left to their fate and cannot return to their communities.