Christmas Eve in 2023 was a day to forget for the people of Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas (LGAs) of Plateau State. The locals had let their guard down and were preparing for Christmas when armed men, whom survivors described as “Fulani militia”, “invaders”, “marauders” or “herdsmen” attacked more than 20 villages and slew many helpless people.
By December 26, the recorded number of deaths in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi had risen to 160. Barely a month later, the armed men killed another 23 people. In the grievous attack, 30 villages were targeted almost simultaneously by armed men with the help of neighbouring Fulani dwellers.
The attacks saw many villagers lose their houses to raging infernos ignited by the invaders; cars were burnt, harvested farm produce looted as spoils of these soulless attacks, farmlands destroyed and livestock stolen. In the end, more than 19,000 people were forced out of their homes and compelled to live in camps for displaced persons or elsewhere in the state. In Bokkos alone, 10,185 people became internally displaced persons (IDPs). Today, an undocumented number of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi residents have refused to return to their communities.
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SURVIVING
Sunday Dennis, a Barkin Ladi resident, who spoke to FIJ in January, said that Darwt, his community, still bears the marks of the 2023 Christmas Eve attacks. This is because his community received no humanitarian help after the incident.
“We were all left alone. I heard other communities got donations and relief materials, but we got nothing. We started life afresh. It is not good. We still need help from good people,” Dennis told FIJ on Tuesday.
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In January, Dennis told FIJ that he returned to the village after the Fulani herders attacked Darwt on Christmas Eve to find his son lying helplessly on the floor. He said some axe-wielding men had cut his son at the scruff of his neck and left him for dead.
“But my son is fine now. He’s alive,” he said.
The Fulani herders killed seven Darwt residents, including Michael Ali, his wife, their newborn, who was strapped to her back, a woman they shot several times while she was running to safety and a man left to die in pain after hie leg was cut off.
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PROTECTION
Dickson Mutong, a resident of Miyanga in Bokkos LGA, told FIJ that, unlike last year when the people of his region lacked security, the Plateau State Government sent some security officials to fortify their environment to prevent a repeat of last year’s attacks. While FIJ cannot substantiate this claim at press time, sources in Bokkos LGA confirmed that security personnel have been deployed to protect them.
Similarly, the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, a sociocultural organisation in Bokkos LGA, has called on its members, particularly those living in rural areas, to remain vigilant and maintain heightened security awareness throughout the Christmas season.
The call came after the tragic events of last year, where terrorists targeted Christian communities, resulting in the deaths of hundreds during a six-day killing spree. The BCDC, in a press statement, stated that there were rumours of planned attacks in their community.
READ ALSO: LIFE AFTER APOCALYPSE: Empty Villages, Abandoned Farmlands… Plateau Residents on Edge After Christmas Eve Attack
FIJ contacted Alfred Alabo, the Plateau State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), to inquire if the police were aware of the threats, but he ended the call. When FIJ called back, he did not respond. A follow-up text was sent, but he did not respond.
ATTACKS WITHOUT END
After the 2023 attacks, pockets of attacks in different places in the affected LGAs were reported, and more lives were lost. Amuna Samuel, a resident of Jos, told FIJ that while the affected LGAs appear safe for now, many people were killed by armed men during the year.
In March, April, and September, FIJ reported that people died in fresh attacks. On Tuesday, national newspapers reported a fresh attack in Riyom LGA of Plateau.
PLATEAU ANNALS OF HORROR
1994: Five people were killed during a riot sparked by the appointment and reversal of Alhaji Aminu Mato as chairman of the Jos North Local Government Caretaker Management Committee.
READ ALSO: Herdsmen Kill 2 Pregnant Women in Fresh Plateau Attack
1995: A land dispute between Mwaghavuls in Mangu and the Ron people in Bokkos escalated, resulting in the loss of lives and properties.
1997: Six people died in the Gyero Road crisis in Bukuru, Jos South LGA, caused by resource-based disputes between the Berom and Hausa-Fulani groups.
2018: A revenge attack on Dura Du in Jos South LGA led to 57 deaths, following the assassination of Idris Alkali, a high-ranking military officer.
READ ALSO: REIGN OF TERROR: Inside Plateau Communities Where Army Helps Killer Herdsmen
2020: Farmer-herder clashes in Riyom LGA persisted throughout the year, claiming numerous lives.
2021: Clashes and reprisals in Bassa LGA and other councils resulted in 30 deaths, livestock rustling and property destruction.
2022: At least 58 individuals were killed in seven violent attacks and counterattacks between farmers and herders in Bassa, Jos North and Shendam LGAs.
2023: Over 400 people were killed in violent assaults and reprisals, with the December attacks in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs being the most devastating.
The post One Year After Christmas Eve Massacres, Plateau Suffers More Bloodshed appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.