CSI is providing emergency aid to survivors. ECCVN
On the night of July 15, while villagers were asleep, a group of more than 30 suspected Fulani militants invaded Bindi (Jebbu) Ta-hoss, a predominantly Christian community in Riyom local government area of Plateau State. The militants are said to have gone from house to house, slaughtering men, women and children in their beds. At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. At least one church was burned down.
ECCVN, local partners of Christian Solidarity International (CSI) in Plateau, described the attack as a “clear massacre mission”. They said that in addition to the lives lost, 12 homes had been destroyed by fire while others suffered varying degrees of damage. Some 2,468 people are internally displaced.
“Victims are now sheltering in precarious conditions exposed to further health risks, suffering from trauma, and lacking basic necessities such as food, clean water, shelter, and medical care. These individuals, mostly women, children, and elderly persons, face daily risks of hunger, disease, and worsening psychological stress,” ECCVN wrote.
Attacked with guns and machetes
ECCVN was able to visit the affected area two days after the massacre and collect the stories of survivors.
“On the day before the attack, we heard gunshots close to our house at about 5pm. My husband said it was probably the military stationed at the checkpoint near our house firing warning shots to scare people,” said Rauta Dalyop Dako, the 50-year-old wife of the pastor of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Bindi.
“We finished cooking, ate, and went to bed at about 10pm. The following day at about 3am we heard sporadic gunshots all over our community. Within five minutes, we saw Fulani militias through the window armed with guns and machetes. They surrounded our house, trapping us inside. They forcefully gained entry and began slaughtering the women and children in the guest house. To the glory of God, He shielded my husband and me.”
Victims burned to death as church razed
Thirty-six-year-old Solomon Sunday was the security officer at the COCIN church, which was set on fire by the attackers.
“I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack; they had sought refuge in the church but were burned [alive] by Fulani militias,” Sunday told ECCVN.
“On the day of the attack, we were farming when we noticed many Fulani herders lurking nearby.
I advised my family to seek refuge in the church, which seemed the safest place at the time.”
Another survivor, Gyang Sunday, reported that he had heard rumors of an impending attack and had notified security agents. When he got home from his farm on July 15, he told his wife to go into town for her own safety, but he stayed behind.
“Early the next morning, we heard sporadic gunshots. My elder brother and I, both vigilantes, decided to hide as the shooting was intense. We were separated, and by morning I found his corpse with gunshot wounds.”
Gyang’s brother leaves behind six children for whom Gyang – a poor farmer with a family of his own – now has to provide.
Displaced villagers in dire need of assistance
Solomon Sunday said the community had been devastated by the attack and most residents had fled to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Riyom, where there was a critical lack of food, medicines and and sleeping spaces.
Through its local partner, ECCVN, CSI was able to respond immediately, providing emergency food aid, warm clothing and medical assistance to survivors. CSI’s aid also covers the provision of building materials to rebuild destroyed and damaged infrastructure.
Funeral for victims
Residents held a funeral procession for the 27 victims of the massacre on July 25, Morning Star News reported.
“These are dead bodies of innocent Christians who were brutally and gruesomely murdered during their sleep by Muslim Fulani killer herdsmen and terrorists in a community situated less than 200 meters from the Special Task Force (STF), a military check point in Riyom Local Government Area,” rights activist James Nyango told the Christian news website.
“The fact that this community noticed and reported the imminent attack to the STF military officers at that military checkpoint makes it more worrisome, suspicious and raises many questions,” Nyango said.
Since 2018, militias from the Muslim Fulani ethnic group have been systematically attacking Christian villages in Nigeria’s fertile Middle Belt region, occupying their land and displacing millions. CSI issued a genocide warning for Christians in Nigeria in 2020.
There have been numerous recorded attacks this year alone in Plateau State, including on the night of Palm Sunday when more than 50 villagers were killed. CSI has been providing aid to victims of Islamist terrorist attacks in Nigeria since 2013.
