Attackers Slaughtered Seven Siblings After Father Lined Them Up - Witness

                               
Niger State was thrown into mourning last week in separate attacks, gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, struck in two different local government areas- Mokwa and Paiko, leaving 26  murdered.


Etogi village, Gbara Ward in Mokwa local government area of the state is a settlement of about 1,500 people who are predominantly fishermen. The community had, for over 50 years, lived in peace with herdsmen settlers before the sour relationship  that escalated to the killings.

Vanguard gathered that the crisis started about four years ago over a grazing land.
The land was said to have been  leased  to the herders by the villagers but controversy arose over the  ownership years later when the community wanted to use it for dry season farming, a development that did not go down well with the herdsmen who said they were not ready to vacate the land.

The Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, in whose domain the parcel of land is located, allegedly intervened severally but the two parties stuck to their different positions. It was gathered that some months ago, the mediators sent by the Etsu to once again look into the matter were rounded up by the villagers and locked up in a room  while demanding the release of their kinsmen  arrested by the police, saying the Etsu Nupe’s emissaries will not be released unless their people were also set free. Viewed as an affront  to the traditional ruler, the Etsu handed off the issue.

Because of the crisis, the Sarkin (head) of the herdsmen in the community, Tanko Yugudawas, was said to have been chased out of the village. The mission was carried out but with a vow from some of the Sarkin’s men  to avenge his humiliation. The opportunity allegedly came, penultimate Saturday, when a herder was said to have been  stabbed by one of the villagers over an argument and, in retaliation, the herdsmen mobilized  and killed several people.

It was an early morning raid. Nobody expected  it from the herdsmen who were said to be armed with guns, daggers, knives among others and stormed the village as early at 5a.m on motorcycles and canoe and made straight to the community mosque where the early morning prayer, led by the Imam of the village, Alhaji Saidu Imam, was going on. Caught unawares, the suspected herdsmen started slaughtering the worshippers  in the mosque, starting with the Chief Imam. Those who managed to escape from the mosque were said to have been pursued, caught and  killed. The sporadic shooting in the mosque woke up women and children in the village and, as they also tried to escape, some of them, who came face to face with the gunmen, were murdered. For about two hours that the attack lasted, no help came due to the lack of access road and communication to Katcha, the headquarters of Katcha local government area.

While it was easy for the village adults to escape, the children fled in different directions. Five of the children declared missing  are suspected to have plunged into river Niger while trying to escape. Many of the adults also sustained varying degrees of wounds while fleeing the troubled spot.

Knowing that many of the villagers may have still been in their compounds, the gunmen were said to have stormed the houses. An eye witness told our correspondent that the house of the village Head, Bala Abdullahi Pog, was the first port of call. But he had fled. In most of houses visited, the gunmen were said to have been  after cash and ended up collecting millions of Naira from their victims and also killed some in the process.

The only woman killed, Zainab Suleiman, was said to have been shot because of her uncooperative attitude after she was asked to show the gunmen where the money of her husband was kept. The husband was said to be away to the mosque when the wife was killed at home for refusing to lead the gunmen to where their money was kept. It could not be immediately ascertained wether the husband was among those murdered in the mosque.

One prominent businessman in the village, Abdullahi Yanda, was said to be among those murdered in his bedroom even after he had given  about N3m  to the gunmen. Unlike the woman who was killed for preventing the attackers from having access to the money kept in her home, another woman was said to have been  spared for “co-operating” with them and leading them to where money in the house was hidden. Even then, the husband was  said to have been ordered to say his last prayer and killed in the wife’s presence and the money  taken away.
The deputy village head, Alhaji Ahmadu Tella, aged 75, was allegedly traced to his bathroom and killed.

One Soje Jibrin was said to have been killed along with his seven children. The whereabouts of his wife were not known as of the time of going to press An eyewitness told our correspondent that Soje was taken  in his residence and ordered to line up his children who were slaughtered one after the other before the assailants descended on him.

Etog is a reverine community. In fact, it will take not less than one hour to the nearest police station which is in Katcha  while the only means of transport is canoe. It was learnt that though a distress call was made to the police in Katcha, the difficult terrain made it difficult for help to come and this gave room for the massacre of the villagers without any challenge.

It is an understatement to describe the situation in the community as pathetic. Blood flowed on the streets while there were also blood stains everywhere in the mosque. Survivors were rushed to Mokwa General Hospital for treatment. For the villagers  who witnessed the massacre but lucky to be alive, the decision to flee, leaving their sources of livelihood behind was not a mistake and, as far as they were concerned, they put  their lives before  material gains. The suvivors were not willing to return home despite the heavy presence of security men in and around the community when Sunday Vanguard visited on Thursday; and  not even with a plea by the state government asking them to return and carry out their normal business without fear. Meanwhile, those who were killed in the attack have been given mass burial.

Niger State government delegation, led by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, rushed to the community for on-the-spot assessment of the level of damage. Ketso  condemned the attack in strong terms and assured that the perpetrators will be brought to book.