How we were attacked, relatives killed by suspected herdsmen – Nasarawa residents

A resident of Numan-Chuko in Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Maiwuya Bahago, on Monday narrated how she lost a pregnant daughter and three other children to suspected herdsmen attack.

Ms Bahago said the unfortunate incident occurred on Sunday when her children were attending a naming ceremony in the neighbourhood.

According to her, at about 9 p.m., some persons suspected to be herdsmen invaded the vicinity, shooting sporadically.

She said, “four of my children were killed by herdsmen yesterday. One was pregnant, another one was a mother of three and two others were unmarried.

“They came for the naming ceremony and that was how they met their demise”.

Bahago called for assistance from the government and well-meaning Nigerians to cater for the children left behind by the deceased.

“How do I take care of these children they left behind. I do not have anyone to help me bring them.

“I need prayers and help from well-meaning Nigerians,” she said.

In the same vein, some survivors who were receiving treatment at the Akwanga General Hospital narrated their ordeal.

One Maikasuwa Ngila, a young man, who sustained injuries on the leg, said he was shot at while trying to escape from the scene.

“I attended the naming ceremony in the town yesterday evening and the next thing we saw was an attack on us.

“We ran looking for a safe place to hide but before I knew what was happening, I was shot in the leg.

“I saw the attackers. They were herdsmen,” he said

Another survivor, an elderly man, who sustained bullet wounds in the face, Ayuba Maikano, said it was an unfortunate incident.

He said he was hit when he stood up to leave the venue of the naming ceremony.

Mr Maikano said, “I was at the naming ceremony. I stood up to leave because it was getting late and the next thing I heard were sporadic gunshots.

“I was hit by a bullet in the face. I did not see the faces of the persons that carried out the attack but bullets were flying everywhere. It happened between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunday night.”

The Medical Director of Akwanga General Hospital, Gonji Thomas, told journalists that 15 persons were brought to the hospital dead while some persons sustained different degrees of injury.

He said:”15 corpses were brought in here while four persons were brought in with bullet injuries and were placed on admission.

“The family of one of the victims took his corpse for burial. So we have 14 left corpses in the mortuary.

“Some of the victims came as outpatients. So, in all, we have treated eight injured persons.”

Reacting to the incident, the Paramount Ruler, Chum-Mada Akwanga, Samson Yare, urged the federal government to equip the security agents with proper information gadgets for proper surveillance.

He said, ” these attackers do not live in the moon. If we can spend resources to trace solid minerals under the ground, it should not be a difficult thing to trace where they live.

“I plead for urgent measures to be taken to forestall a repeat of this incident.

“It is quite unfortunate and strange because we have never had any form of clash in this community.

“We have been living harmoniously for a long time,” he noted.

The paramount ruler urged the people to remain calm, saying security operatives had commenced an investigation into the matter.

He pointed out that “from on the spot assessment I carried out when the incident happened, they said their attackers interacted with them before they suddenly resulted to sporadic shooting.

“There are witnesses who can identify some of the attackers.

“This thing happened in the night and the terrain was not so accessible and before we could inform the police, the damage had been done.”

Commiserating with victims, Senator Philip Gyunka (PDP-Nasarawa) urged the people to remain calm while an investigation was carried out by relevant authorities.

He called for relief materials for victims to cushion the effect of the attacks.

Confirming the incident, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State Police Command, Inusa Mohammed said, “It is quite unfortunate what happened.

“However, trying to shift the blame on the security agency is another unfortunate one.

“Actually, police need information to work. If information is not passed to the Police, there is no how we will know.

“For instance, the wee hour it happened and the location it happened is far from the police.

“So, we only got to know when it had happened.”

He assured residents that investigation had commenced into the matter.

(NAN)