A Fulani elder who has lived in the Hurti community of Manguna District, Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, for more than three decades has confirmed that the gunmen responsible for the attack that claimed 46 lives were members of his own tribe.
In a video shared Tuesday by journalist Masara Kim Usman, the elder, who has peacefully resided among the predominantly Christian community for 32 years, said the attackers spoke the Fulani dialect and revealed their identity through both language and behaviour.
He recounted that when the assailants stormed the community, he approached them and pleaded in Fulfulde, asking why they were intent on killing the people he described as “friends” and “family.”
The elder recounted that he stepped in front of the attackers and pleaded with them in their dialect, asking why they intended to kill the people. They replied that nothing would stop them.
Despite his appeals, the gunmen threatened to kill him if he did not move aside. They then forcibly pushed him away and carried out a brutal rampage, killing 46 residents and burning homes belonging to Christians.
He said the most painful part was that the killers were his own tribesmen, who ignored his pleas to spare the people he had lived alongside for decades and considered friends and family.
Notably, no Muslim or Fulani resident was harmed during the attack.
“The Fulani elder, as quoted by Daily Post, said, “I heard them speaking fluent Fulani language. They were discussing in the Fulani language. So I approached them and spoke to them in the same language. Women were trooping to my place and begging me to rescue them. If I had the power to rescue them, I would have done so.
“I have been living with them for so many years and they have become my family. When they left, I went to the hills and watched the whole scenario.
“Then they regrouped and started shooting. There was shooting all over the town. We all hid in one room while the shooting continued for a long time, killing plenty of people.”
