From Rose Ejembi and Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi

For the family of Kwaghna, their 12-year-old son, Solomon, would continue to remind them of their ordeal in the hands of killer Fulani herdsmen who attacked their village, Mchia, in Logo Local Government, Benue State.

The attack lasted for six hours on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. It wiped out 15 villagers from Mchia and Mou communities and left several others injured

Solomon was one of the victims of that attack in Mchia. Not only was he injured like others, his left hand chopped off in cold blood. All of these have brought tears and sorrow to his family.

His elder brother, who was sleeping next to him when the attackers invaded their community, escaped with machete cuts on his back. His other siblings were saved by the whiskers after hidden themselves under the bed.

At the Benue State University Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, where Solomon and seven others lay in pains, he could barely speak. His mother, Christaina, who managed to escape, sat by his bedside in deep grief.

She just clutched him by her hands and kept looking into the open space.

Speaking in her native Tiv Language and assisted by her daughter, Joy, she tried very hard to narrate what happened. But her power of speech was failing her:

“On Wednesday, between 9.00pm and 10.00pm, gunmen, we are sure they were herdsmen, came and attacked our village. The herdsmen were in their numbers. We were already in bed sleeping when we heard their gunshots. They were loud enough to wake us up.

“I was sleeping in the room with my husband and our last baby who is nine. When they came, they started shooting. When we heard the gunshots, we quietly opened our door and sneaked out.

“It was too late to check on the others because the gunmen were already everywhere in the compound. So, the three of us, my husband, my baby and myself, escaped into the bush. They operated for six hours without any challenge and left around 3am when they were done.

“When I ran and left my children, I was restless. I was praying to God to save them because I didn’t know their whereabouts at that time.

While we were in the bush, I can’t remember how many times I urinated and went to the toilet. I was so afraid and my heart was pounding so fast that I almost fainted.

“That was the longest night in my life. I kept praying and asking God to save my children. When I came out at dawn, I was told that soldiers had come and taken Solomon and the others to the hospital. I went down in tears and thanked God for saving us but I felt very devastated about what happened.

“We were all sleeping peacefully and the next moment, my son was butchered like an animal with one hand cut. This is too much to bear.

Looking at him, it’s as if my heart would fall out of my chest.

“When we got to the hospital, we saw that they cut him on the face and cut off his left hand from the wrist. They also cut him on the shoulder with an axe.

“He fell unconscious in the pool of his blood. That was when they left him thinking he was dead. It was by God’s grace that he was still breathing when the soldiers arrived.”

Joy also told Daily Sun: “My brother told me that women were among those who attacked them. In fact, he said it was one of the women that used the axe to cut him on the shoulder.

“He narrated how he struggled to free himself when many of them entered the room that night but could not escape and how his elder brother escaped with a machete cut at the back.

“It was by the grace of God that they didn’t catch up with him as he made the escape. I was told that when the attackers came, they knocked at the door but no one answered.

“They kicked the door open. They entered but didn’t see anyone because the occupants were hiding under the bed. Then the women on seeing no one started picking my mother’s clothes and shoes.

“After the herders wrecked havoc and left, the soldiers arrived. They started picking up the dead victims. When they got to Solomon, they discovered that he was still breathing. So they put him into their vehicle and took him to a hospital in Anyiin. It was from the hospital that we were transferred to BSUTH in Makurdi.”

Another victim, 13-year-old Msughaondo Igbakua, was also in pain at the time of visit. He was restless, turning from one side of his bed to the other with one side of his eyes heavily bandaged.

His uncle held him on to prevent him from sliding off the bed. He was sleeping with his two younger siblings on Wednesday night when he was attacked.

His father, Aondohemba, was not at home when the incident took place.

He had gone to his maternal home with his wife where he was given a piece of land to cultivate. He left Msughaondo, who is in primary four and his little ones behind.

His narration: “On Wednesday, Fulani herders came and surrounded our place and they started shooting and killing people.

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“He (the boy) was not aware of what was happening until they entered the house. They cut him with a machete on the face when he was sleeping inside the room with his three younger ones. After they attacked him, he ran out and started crying for help.

“They came with all manner of weapons. Some with guns and others with machetes and axes. I left this boy with his younger ones to go to my mother’s place because I was farming there. I was called and told what happened.

“When I came back and saw blood all over the room, fear gripped me. I thought they were dead. I was calmed by my relatives who told me they were taken to hospital.

“I have spent so much at the hospital in Anyiin before they were referred to the teaching hospital in Makurdi. They are now under the care of the Logo Local Government chairman. I’m told that that eye is totally condemned.”

“As I speak to you, everyone in Mchia village has packed out. Some have run to stay in Abeda, some to Ugba and others to Gboko and Makurdi. Our lives are not safe there anymore,” said Christiana, the mother.

Commissioner of Police, Wale Abass, confirmed the killing of 10 people. Security Adviser to the Governor, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba, (rtd)

said the bandits attacked communities in Mchia killing 12 persons in

all.  He described the killings as unfortunate saying government would

ensure that perpetrators were brought to book.

Chief Medical Director, BSUTH, Prof. Terrumun Swende, confirmed that

eight victims were brought in from Logo and were admitted. Others were

admitted in other hospitals:

“From January to 26th September 26, 2022, the hospital received over

853 patients from Internally Displaced People’s (IDPs) camp. About 50

of them came in with evidence of active attacks and injuries.

“Last week, we received about six from Logo LG. On Sunday, two came

in, badly injured with gunshot injuries and machete cuts from Yogbo in

Guma LG.

“We started noticing a new pattern. Since 2018, these attacks

snowballed and went out of hand. The casualties from the

herders-farmers’ clashes were more during the dry season. May be,

because the herders will move down South in search of green pastures.

But the pattern has dramatically changed.

“Now, we have a situation where we are having the attacks in the peak

of the rainy season which is but unusual.”

Swende charged government at all levels to rise up to their primary

responsibility: “And this is security of life and property. People

have gone through and are still going through a lot trauma.”