Gyang Bere, Jos

For 35- year-old Jerry Danbwarang, life has become worthless and void of meaning. A broken soul, living in bitterness, Danbwarang has no immediate family member; no job or home. That he is alive today to tell his story is nothing short of ‘divine intervention’ because he had almost died on two occasions but luckily survived.

He has been a target of herdsmen attacks, one of which had led to the death of his entire family members- leaving him with only his grandmother, Mary Danbwarang.

Speaking to Daily Sun soon after he was discharged from Vom Christian Hospital in Jos where he had been on admission following the second attack, he recalled that the first attack happened in Vwok Tanjol village in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State in 2010.

He could still remember when some killer -herdsmen descended on their village and unleashed mayhem, leaving behind a trail of blood and tears. He recounted how many members of his community were killed, while adding that they also chased many of them into Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

Years had passed on and Jerry had began to pick up the debris of his lives again, having spent months, if not years, resident in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp. While trying to overcome the terrifying misfortune of his past, came his second encounter with the herdsmen. This time around, it shattered his life forever as it took away his grandmother who at the time was the only surviving family member he had.

After living in an IDP camp for a while, he returned to Daku hamlet of Jol village to rebuild his life. He was beginning to think of life again and what he must do to move on. All these entailed gathering of a lot of resources relevant for the objective. He stated adding that it was in the course of this that on September 26, 2019, he came face to face with horror.

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Three of his neighbors, namely Dachollom Madu, Solomon Miango and Dangul Davou, who were in his company during the sudden siege, were all killed in cold blood but he luckily survived. Or better put, death refused to come for him, he recalled.

A few people, who saw him after the attack, realised he was still breathing and promptly rushed him to Vom Christian Hospital for medical attention. He recalled that when his grandmother heard about his tragedy, she fainted in shock, thinking that he had been killed by the herdsmen.

“When my grandmother regained consciousness, she couldn’t wait a minute more. She hurriedly dashed to the hospital, only to be hit from behind by a moving vehicle, a hit that amputated one of her legs. The old woman, who had lost her husband in the infamous 2010 attack in their village, was rushed to Vom Christian Hospital by some good Samaritans. The doctors tried in vain to save her life,” Danbwarang told Daily Sun adding that her corpse was deposited in the same hospital where he was, without his knowledge.

“Traumatised was putting the word mildly,” Jerry said of his feelings when he heard of her death and recalled that he was still bonded by the nightmare that took over him after the news of her death was broken.

Luckily, he was discharged a few days ago and one would have thought that he would be happy to go home. But that was not the case for this waned spirit. Home for him has died with his grandmother, he told Daily Sun as walked away from the gate of the facility to nowhere in particular.

Meanwhile, his medical bill was paid by Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria (ECCVN), which also gave him the sum of N50,000 as transport fare. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Fredrick Dachung appreciated the gesture of the Center, saying that if not for their intervention, the cost of the bill would probably have not been settled.