A woman who lost eight relatives in the April 9 attack by suspected Fulani militia on Mbwelle village, Kwatas district of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, has alleged that soldiers deployed to the area were busy providing security for herdsmen’s cattle while her community was being slaughtered.
The distraught woman made the allegation in a video shared on social media by conflict journalist Kim Masara Usman on Sunday, saying terrified residents had placed frantic calls to troops under the Operation Ensuring Peace task force when the attackers stormed the village, pleading for immediate intervention.
The soldiers, however, never responded throughout the attack, which lasted more than two hours.
She added that, to the community’s horror, a gun truck belonging to Sector 5 of the OPEP task force was later spotted stationed in front of a Fulani settlement where the attackers had retreated after carrying out the invasion.
“When the Fulani killers came to our village that night and started shooting at the people, our youths and elders called the soldiers who were stationed less than three kilometres away.
“We pleaded with them to come to our aid but they refused to come,” she said.
“The Fulani killers were shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ and shooting at our people for more than two hours but the soldiers did not come. They came into our house and killed eight of my family members including my brother’s wife who was pregnant.
“How wicked could they be? They killed my father, my brothers, and my young nephews. What did these people do to them to deserve such a death?
“In the end, we lost over 20 people. When the Fulani killers left, we discovered that they ran to Korong, one of the villages that they had earlier chased the people away from and forcibly occupied.
“As if that was not enough, we later realised that the soldiers had stationed their gun truck in front of Korong, thereby providing security for the Fulani people while leaving innocent people open to attack,” the woman lamented.
