Benue attacks: ‘I lost 20 family members’ – Survivor recounts ordeal

Ajah

Survivors of the recent deadly attacks in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, have spoken out in anguish, recounting how their family members were killed and homes set ablaze by suspected herdsmen.

In a video interview with News Central TV, a survivor, Michael Ajah, narrated the trauma of losing at least 20 members of his family in the assault.

“My people, my family members, they died in this house, 11. Some died in the other store, eight, and some died here. My whole family members that died yesterday, the day before yesterday, on that very day, there were 20.” he said.

“That is my own family members. I’m not talking about any other thing. That is my own family members,” Ajah added.

He added that his goods and property were also lost in the attack saying, “This is my store. Those shops are my stores. Those places are burnt. My house is up there, that place also is burnt.

“And the store where I pack my goods, I store my goods everywhere. That’s burnt. They burnt my clothes. They burnt everything. They burnt our food. All my family members.

“What we came out with is our clothes, what we wear. And I, standing here, this is what I came out with. And this is the only thing that I have. There is nothing with me,” he said holding the cloth he was wearing.

Ajah further described how the attackers stormed their home late in the night during a heavy rain saying, “On that very day, rain started in the evening. So we entered. I slept there. So, I was sleeping. Around 10.20, we heard gunshots at the back there. So, before we could notice that something has happened, fulani men, they entered this place.”

He added that he was certain they were Fulani men because he heard them speak.

“They were speaking and I was inside the room and I heard them clearly, not somebody told me. I was inside the room there and they surrounded that room. I escaped narrowly. My brother was burnt in this house. Some escaped. My dad was burnt in this house,” he said.In a separate interview, another resident, Bature Bartholomew, revealed that he lost his younger brother, his sister-in-law, and his mother in the attack, all of whom were said to have been burnt alive in their home.