• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Resilience  [Forging Ahead] 

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– Headline: “Retired DSS, 13 Others Missing In Nasarawa Militiamen Attack.”

“Retired officer of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), AlhajiDauda Musa and 13 other persons have been declared missing after suspected militiamen attached Dawusu village, in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Daily Trust had reports that suspected militiamen had on Monday night invaded the village and hacked five persons to death, and set some houses ablaze.

The paramount traditional ruler in the area, Ohimegye of Opanda-Umaisha, His Royal Majesty (HRM) AlhajiUsmanAbdullahi confirmed the missing of 14 persons, including a retired DSSS officer.

He said he received the report of the missing victims from the village chief of Dawusu community, AlhajiIdris Mundi, who came to brief him at his palace about the incident.”

What totally ruined an otherwise sublime day was the gory tale of savagery on the front page of “Saturday Punch” newspaper of 25thJuly 2020.

Headline: (i) It’s shocking: explosion killed my four kids in oneday” – Father of Katsina victims.

Read Also: Fulani herdsmen will kill our leaders if they know the truth

“I was at my place of work at Malumfashi on that day. I am an official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and I normally leave home in the morning for work after settling my responsibilities to my family.

On that very day, just a few hours after I left home, one of my children called me and told me that there was a bomb explosion on a farm and that his siblings died in the explosion. My first reactions were that of shock and disbelief. In the first instance, I left all my family members including the children and their mothers at home, though I recollect some of them were telling me that they would go and get grass for our animals.

So, my colleagues at work, who were following my conversation on the phone, rallied round to help me. Together, we went to the scene of the incident to verify whether it was true or not. But before we got there, the police were there and it was the Area Commander who prevailed on me not to move closer to the scene because there could still be some other dangerous devices that caused the explosion on the ground.

Eleven children were actually at the scene of the explosion. Five died on the spot. Two, who were in critical conditions, were being rushed to Zaria when they died midway to the hospital. The remaining four were taken to the General Hospital, Malumfashi, for treatment.

Five of my children were involved. Four died on the spot while one survived and is currently on admission at the General Hospital, Malumfashi.

The children went to the farm to get grass for our animals. And you know since they are on holiday, children always move together in groups with their friends. That was exactly what happened. They went to the farm along with their friends. But you know what has been destined to happen, will happen. It is better one does not question the decision of God. That is how my family and I take the incident.’

How many wives do you have?

Two.

Are the five affected children from different mothers?

No. They are from the same mother.

How did their mother react to the incident?

I told you the whole family has accepted Allah’s decision. Naturally, as a human being, the shock of the incident initially overwhelmed her. She has been able to accept Allah’s wish.

All the children were boys. The eldest of them was my third born and attended Gora Community Secondary School. The remaining three and the one on admission at the hospital are the younger ones.

How many children do you have?

Please, pardon me, all I can say is that I have other children apart from those who just died.

How would you describe your deceased children?

Human beings are not the same. But all I can say is that all my children, including the older ones among them, are caring and supportive of the family and they love one another, though not from the same mother.

What is the condition of the one on admission in the hospital?

Alhamdulillah. He is responding to treatment and I thank my family, my colleagues, my friends and people in our community. They have been supportive and assisting us especially with prayers. They have been coming since the incident happened and when they come, they offer prayers for us and stay with us to comfort us.

What about council officials and the state government?

We have a culture of rallying round one another here, be it joyful occasions, like weddings, or periods of sadness as it has happened now. Our governor (AminuMasari) also came along with Akimi (District head) to condole and sympathise with us. Here, we believe that whatever happens to one of us happens to all of us. What has been destined to happen will happen. We have accepted our fate. We have a strong belief in Allah that he gives and takes and that every living soul will go at the appointed time, no matter your age, your achievements and your popularity. Everybody has got his own time to live in this world. Well, my advice is that parents should endeavour to monitor the movements of their children, especially when they are on holiday. Parents should engage them positively and support them with prayers.”

Headline: (ii) “Bandits killed my husband with machete, vowed to wipe out our community” – Chibuak attack victim.

“Mrs Paulina Ishaku, a resident of Chibuak village, Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, tells GODWIN ISENYO about the July 10, 2020, attack on the village by bandits which left 20 persons dead

What’s your name and age?

My name is Paulina Ishaku and I am 52 years of old.

Can you narrate how the attack occurred?

On June 10, 2020, there was an attack on our village, Chibuak, when one man was killed on his farm. We in Chibuak didn’t go anywhere. My Husband, Ishaku Elisha, was the village head. So, he quickly assembled members of the community and told them in unequivocal terms not to carry out a reprisal or take the law into their hands against their attackers, adding that God would take vengeance.

Do you know who the attackers were?

They were Fulani people. The attack created tension in the village but even at that, my husband stood by his order, that nobody must touch any huts belonging to our Fulani brothers and told the Fulani to remain calm. He said no one would touch them in our village. However, after three days, we saw soldiers accompanying some of our local Fulanis to their side of our village. We have been living with them ever since I can remember and even after several conflicts in the state, we have always remained as one. We got confused about why they were relocating because nobody asked them to go. But they all left the village. We were crying, asking them why they had to leave unceremoniously looking at our relationship with them for decades. Their grandfathers died and were buried in our community. We had become like brothers with them. But they left.

After the Fulani who had lived in your area for decades left, what happened next?

We were just living peacefully when we got information from some of them and other people from Kigudu village that we should be ready because they (Fulani) are coming to show us hell. We thought it was a joke. These are people whom we have not touched or talked about touching their property. But the question is: why should they come back with evil? When we got the message, my husband gathered the whole community and again, gave a strong warning that nobody should touch anything belonging to the Fulanis that left. And everyone complied.

We were about sleeping on Thursday night when we started hearing gunshots. I listened again but they were too severe to come from our local vigilante. So, I woke my children up. I told them the gunshots were not from the vigilante patrolling our community. We moved to the sitting room. At that time, we were confused. Then we saw flames of fire just from outside. When I peeped from the window, it was the car that my son parked. It was set ablaze. The attackers started burning a house before they came close to our house. I later learnt that they had gone to the home of my husband’s second in command where they met the wife.

Did the attackers state their mission?

They told her they were not dealing with women but men. They asked her where her husband was. She told them he is not around and they said, “Okay, do not worry. We’ll not kill you”. When they came to our compound, our young brother, who was taking cover by the car to defend our house, was shot. Those that know our village will tell you there is no access road. River Kaduna, which passes through there, is our boundary. There is no bridge. The Fulanis started moving from house to house. When they got to one house where they met women hiding in fear in one room, they only asked them about the whereabouts of their husbands. When they did not get a good response, they shot one woman and her daughter in-law in the arm.

You early mentioned that your attackers were Fulani. Did you identify any of them in the cause of the attack?

Yes. I am very sure that the attackers were Fulani. From where we were still standing, we saw them (Fulani) when they moved to our compound while we were in the sitting room. Those that entered our compound were more than 30 heavily armed Fulani. I saw them. They shared themselves into groups. I can recollect when they were approaching our gate and started removing a barricade that we used to block the gate. One of the Fulani boys that opened the gate is well known .

When they forcefully entered the flat next to mine, my mate (she is the first wife of our husband) lives in that flat with her daughter, Dorothy Ishaku, aged 25. From there, I heard the sound of gunshots. There was a loud scream above the gunshots and I just knew they had killed her. They shot the daughter and left her. They shot her in the legs. But then, Dorothy crawled to my flat and told me to open the door, saying that her mother had been killed. When I opened the door, I saw blood all over her. She was bleeding and was in pain. Yet these killers were all over the house and shooting. She advised me to run or they would kill all of us, if they entered the house. The children were too scared to cry. Outside, fire was burning everywhere. On my part, I was in shock and did not know what to do with a girl bleeding and the kids who may also be killed with me.

It was the same Dorathy, who was shot, that still suggested and insisted that we should go out through the window of the kitchen. There were seven of us in the room. God showed His greatness. I carried my grand-daughter on my back after the rest crawled out. I don’t even know how I went out through the window because of the size. I just saw myself landing on the ground with my granddaughter fastened to my back. We followed the back of one of the houses that had been set ablaze already. We carried Dorathy with her bullet wound. We had to drag her on the ground as the little children were helping too. She was crying because of the pain she was going through.

We got to place a bit far off but heard gunshots as if they (attackers) were close to us.

Dorothy told us to leave her to die so that the attackers would not catch up with us and kill us all, but I refused and we kept on dragging her and running. We were all moving into the bush, not knowing where we were going until we got to a river bank. We didn’t know it was River Kaduna. We dragged her into a sugarcane farm full of mud. We were on the farm at about 1am when it started raining. There were insects and mosquitoes but we felt safe. We could see the light from burning homes in Chibuak. We heard faint sounds of gunshots. We were shivering in the sugarcane farm.

I think it was at 4am that the sound of gunshots stopped. We came out of the farm at 5am. I didn’t know how my son got to hear about the attack. He had already arrived from Kafanchan where he works as a medical official. He came on a motorbike to where we had managed to reach on our way back. There were villagers also who came to meet us. He took Dorothy and tied her to his back and rode to the next village. It was from there that they got a canoe that took them to the other side with a car waiting to take her to hospital. She is now receiving treatment.

Where was your husband before you fled with the children?

He was in his room. When they entered my husband’s house they shot him several times but the bullets did not penetrate his body. So, they used a machete on him and cut him several times until he died. They burnt down our houses, carted away many valuables and rustled about 26 cows in the village. Many people who were injured could not survive because there were no vehicles to take them to hospital. The Fulanis had sworn that they were coming back because they did not get the men that were their targets. They said they would finish with the whole community. There is a need for the government to look at the predicament that we are in now. What I have never experienced is what we are facing today. If the district head of the place, Zonkwa, did not host us, where would we have been? The government should provide protection for all. It should sincerely tackle the crisis in Southern Kaduna so that we can go back and resettle in our community.”