Midnight Massacre: One-year-old baby shot at close range

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 will remain indelible in the minds of the people of Fan District of Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, not for cheer, but for melancholy. It was a day when 40 of their people, mostly women and children, were murdered in cold blood by unknown attackers who raided four villages in the middle of the night. Among those killed were entire households. And as has become the norm somewhat, the attackers, said to have been many, had a field day perpetrating their evil with no security agent around to challenge them.

About 10 people were injured by the attackers who also set fire to houses of their victims leaving some of the corpses charred.

The anguish of the people of Tatu, Rahure, Bwok and Dorong was palpable and infectious. Emotions flowed as the people narrated how the attackers unleashed terror on defenseless women and children. Take, for instance, the story of a one-year-old who, woken from sleep when the assailants arrived at about 12.30 am and, frightened at the sight of the strangers, started crying. This was said to have infuriated the attackers who shot him tearing his tender and small body into pieces. The remains had to be gathered for burial.

“A boy of about one year, who was crying when the invaders attacked the family, was shot at close range and his remains littered the room when we got there. We are short of words to describe this barbaric incident”, the village head of Tatu, Da Pam Tsok, said. Tsok said he was lucky to have escaped the attack disclosing that the assailants concentrated on two households where they killed all the 15 members.

“The attack was carried out in a barbaric manner that defies comprehension. At about 1am on Tuesday, I started hearing gunshots; so I rushed out of my home and headed in the direction of the gunshots only to see the corpses of our people who were murdered in cold blood by the attackers. Our village was under siege for more than 30 minutes They killed 15 people in two households and set the houses on fire. We are shocked by the attack because we had no quarrel with any group or person and we have been living in peace with non natives in our midst,” he added.

The story was the same at Rawuru village where a man and his seven children were murdered by the attackers. A relation, Job Chollom, said the gunmen stormed the village at about 12.30 am. and lamented the railure of security men whom he said were not too far away to come to their rescue. He added that nine people were killed in the village while five were injured by the attackers whom he said wore military uniforms and surrounded the village before launching the attack.

The attackers also killed 10 people at Bwok and seven at Dorong village and had disappeared by the time men of the Special Task Force, STF, maintaining security in the Plateau State got there. Interim Administrator of the local government area, Mr. Habila Dungs, who said he was informed of the attacks around 12 midnight, confirmed that about 40 people were killed in the attacks on the four villages. He noted that security men had difficulties accessing the villages, describing the attack as barbaric.

The mutilated corpses, some of which were burnt beyond recognition were given mass burials in the different villages. President of the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN, Dr. Soja Bewarang after the mass burial at Tatu, expressed worry that the presence of security men “all over the place” did not deter the attackers. He condemned frequent attacks on the communities in the state by those who appear bent on wiping out the people. He called on government and security agencies to do more to secure the people, noting that killings had become a source of embarrassment for the country.

An STF statement signed its Media Officer, Captain Salisu Mustapha, confirmed the attacks, explaining that the assailants fled on sighting members of the task force whom he said responded promptly to distress calls. It added that the Commander of the STF, Major General David Enetie, had visited the villages to assess the situation during which he pledged that everything would be done to track down the perpetrators. The statement called on the people to remain law abiding, cooperate with security agencies “and jealously guard the relative peace we are enjoying on the Plateau.”

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the STF has stepped up patrol of the area while more troops have been deployed. The attack on the four villages, coming days after similar attacks in Shendam Local Government Area and the alert by Governor Jonah Jang of security reports revealing plans to disrupt the Christmas festivities in the state, is setting many people on edge. Many residents expressed the hope that necessary steps would be taken to avoid a relapse into the situation of some years back, when attacks and killings became rampant, throwing the people of the state into despair.