Traumatic Experience of Killings In Barkin Ladi Village jos
Incessant attacks and onslaughts unleashed on hapless ranchers by rampaging Fulani cattle rearers have come to appalling percentages and must be stopped forthwith.
According to taimiyu, no less than 4000 persons from the four influenced groups have become refugees and were camped in two locations, Fadan Atakar and Zangan.The pattern of attacks has habitually been the same in all the villages and any state the Fulani’s rears cattle’s. and the ranches where the Fulani beef cattle men have trampled on their victims who are forced hosts to redundant ‘visitors’. beef cattle men usually drive their herds to green pastures all over the homeland, invading plantations on farmlands. owner ranchers watch in utter horror and helplessness as their plantings, vegetables, fruits and other products are trampled upon and decimated by usually dangerously equipped herdsmen. The story has been the same in Yewaland in Ogun state, in Lagos state, in Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Kogi, Kwara, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Edo, Delta, Osun, and in virtually all other southern states of the homeland. It has been sound of anguish and mayhem.
Since early 90s the northern part of Nigeria has known no peace there has been violence from one state to the other, and cases of Muslim killing Christians, Fulani killing beroms and vice versa on reprisal killing, many life’s has been lost due to the reckless killings of innocent and helpless citizens, the government today focuses all their attention on BOKO HARAM forgetting that the Fulani silent killings of innocent citizens too is becoming alarming, although there is boko haram but the Fulani’s also has to be feared because they kill silently over nothing.
If we are to draw a statistics the Fulani killings is higher , for instance since late 90s the Fulani’s has been slaughtering innocent families, burning down house and displacing villagers of normal life. Everyday we read in papers, internet how Fulani terrorize people because of their cows, they value cows than human life
. Let take a look at JOS, a state that used to be a home to Nigerians and foreigners because of the serene atmosphere.
But today its called the killing zone. There are killings in different villages in jos mostly in Barkin ladi and Riyom local government where many families has been wiped out ,houses burned down farmland and live stock destroyed. Government up till date has not jailed or apprehended anybody over these killings.
July 7th 2012 will forever remain in the mind of everybody in barkin ladi local government because they lost 2 notable and respected children to this same Fulani attack.
A witness and survivor Mr. nuhu dayang recall the Fulani attack of 7th July 2012 in kai village ,KAI is among the 9 villages that the Fulani herdsmen’s raided to ashes that very day killing women , children and burning down houses.
He said the whole thing was a piled up anger by the Fulani cattle rearer, because the average Fulani man believes he is been denied of his right and chased out of their land, so they pass on this believes to their children and grandchildren, so in a nutshell the Fulani man believes berom land belongs to them and that the present government is cheating them. Secondly the beroms are mainly Christians while they are Muslims so there is big difference in custom and beliefs.
KAI YOUTH CAME OUT IN A PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION
There has been dispute between KAI residents and this Fulani herdsmen over cows destroying their farm crops sometimes when they are close to harvesting so this has been going on that sometimes the Fulani’s says they are being intimidated when confronted and that they have freedom of movement, so whenever anyone complains to the Fulani’s about their cows destroying their farm crops they take it personal because they believe they are being intimidated and with this they tend to attack anybody or group of people or village who question them over the activities of their cows because they value cows more than human life.
The whole problem started on the 5th of july when kai youth protested that the Fulani nomads should pay compensation or render apology to those whose crop were destroyed by their cows, the peaceful demonstration was lead by the village youth P.R.O (Mr. segun victor who up till this moment no where to be found, and the village head spokesman (Paul dofang , may his soul rest in peace he was a great man , Mrs. dacholom zipora deceased, Mr. okpako,and other notable and vibrant youth of the village, but the Fulani’s felt they were been intimidated because they don’t have the backings of the government , it took the grace of God and the well coordinated leaders that calm the situation because they the nomad told them directly that they have nothing to pay nor any apology to render but the villagers still went home unknowing to them that the nomads had plans for them , though the same rally were done in different berom communities too , two days later being the 7th , the Fulani attacked early hour of the morning when some of the villagers where still asleep and some of these Fulani’s were dressed in military uniform and they divided themselves into groups, they were with guns , bow and arrow , woods and machetes and they were singing that they have come to pay for the crops at the same time shouting Allah ak bar , during the attack the village recorded great loss, the village head was burnt in his house , the spoke man was found dead in his backyard with his children and wife , Mrs. dacholom body was recovered in the bush , while her children and husband no where to be found ,other people killed and some kidnapped, Mr. okpako and Mr. segun victor managed to escape death that very day with their families but their house were burnt to ashes. Days later Mr. segun victor and Mr. okpako were attacked in two different location that lead to the death of Mr. segun victors pregnant wife (Anita) and Mr. okpakos 2 children.still the where about of these men and other people because they all ran dearly for their life. Presently there is nobody in the village that can stand for the people or youth because they don’t want to end up the way the others did that ended up, we Nigerians value our lives and respect death, so sometimes we are scared to stand up for our right. According to a text i read, i quote '' he said the fear of Fulani is the beginning of living’’, they have made themselves God over the fearful indigenes and innocent ones...
ATTACK AND KILLING OF MULTITUDE IN KAI VILLAGE
The killings continues during the burial of those that were burntdr alive in a pastors house in Matse village, the same Fulani herdsmen came and open fire on them and this lead to the death of two law makers in the state.
Since then series of killings has been going on, in august another family was wiped out all because they stood their ground.
This Fulani herdsmen are making the beroms or anybody to understand that they value their cows more than human life, up till date there is different killings in different villages of barkin ladi and riyom local government and nothing has been done to bring this Fulani’s to book because no one knows when they will attack or their mode of operation and its not the same people since they are nomads and they are not static so you cant arrest them,
but they have one thing in common ''beliefs'' which has been passed on to them from birth. They are everywhere and are interconnected, take for instance the Imo crisis (Ohaji/Egbema local government area and Irete, Owerri West local council) perpetuated by the Fulani, and in Osun state, as well as Ibafo Fulani’s in Lagos state, Oleh in isoko south local government area of delta state, all because of what?, ( cows and grazing of farmland). According to Mr. nuhu, The Fulani’s has taken their killing to a whole new level and they get away with it, there was a high expectation that culprit will be brought to book after the killing of 2 law makers Senator Gyang Dantong and honorable Gyang Fulani. There was curfew for 2weeks in the area after which it died down and since then there has been different killings in riyom barkin ladi, bukuru name it ,up till this moment the killings is still goings on in different villages and it look as if they have spy’s that gives them information and monitor people they want to attack. For instance the case of the man who was killed in shonog village before Christmas last year, nothing was done and no Fulani was brought to book or arrested, THE SPECIAL TASK FORCE (STF) always appear after the occurrence of the incidence.
This same village was attacked in January, the media said the casualty were 30, but the casualty where more than that, up till now killing is still going on in different villages of barkin ladi and riyom leaving women and children mostly affected and no significant effort has been made to catch or stop this Fulani herdsmen, although many have been called for peace treaty or boundary review but little has been done. Recently the southern kaduna indigenes progressive forum took their governor to international crime court. In other to stem the tide of this indescent act, the government should pay more attention to this Fulani killings as they are as deadly as boko haram .
It has become imperative for the government to intensify on security policies since nowhere is safe, because Fulani herdsmen are everywhere in NIGERIA perpetrating terror unless the government put an end to this silent killings of the Fulani nomads the Fulani’s are not willing to stop.
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