9th July, 2012
By Femi Adi/Kaduna
Reprisals attacks have been reported in the troubled council areas of Plateau State, where a senator and an assembly man were killed Sunday at the mass burial for earlier victims of attacking Fulani herdsmen.
According to reports available to P.M.News this morning, the counter attacks by Birom youths may have jacked the death toll to over 200. The youths were said to have embarked on their own orgy of violence last night killing all persons identified to be either Hausa or Fulani within Riyom and Barkin ladi and those on transit through Plateau major highways from Abuja and Kaduna .
To contain further killings and spread of the violence to parts of the state , Plateau state government has further extended the 6pm-6am curfew imposed yesterday , Sunday to 6pm-12noon from today, thus leaving residents only four hours to move around .
Officials estimate the number of persons killed in both Saturday and Sunday’s attacks at Riyom and Barkinladi local government areas of Plateau State by Fulanis at over 100. But P.M.NEWS found that the figure merely understated the casualties.
P.M.News learnt that the attacking herdsmen first on Saturday stormed the two local government areas early hours of Saturday at Riyom and Barkin Ladi taking time to raid nine villages unimpeded . They returned yesterday,Sunday where the mass burial for 63 killed on Saturday was being held at Barkin Ladi and opened fire on the mourners.
Among those killed in the renewed hostilities between the native Biroms and Fulani settlers are Senator representing Jos North , Gyang Dantong and the Majority leader of the Plateau House of Assembly, representing Barkinladi constituency, Gyang Filani who were later confirmed to have died of shock from the sporadic shooting at the Church of Christ venue of the yesterday’s mass burial
According to sources , the violence at the weekend was a culmination of a chain of events that started Tuesday, when the Fulani herdsmen accused the security men of destroying their houses and dispersing them from the area.
More tension brewed after the Birom community last Friday blamed the Fulani of destroying their farms and staged a peaceful demonstration demanding compensation.
The full scale violence erupted on Saturday 7 July, after the Fulani accused the Berom natives of violently assaulting them.
Despite the curfew, tension still envelops the state, with tongues wagging and threats from Berom youth to avenge for the lawmakers and other people killed by attackers they claimed were the Fulani herdsmen.
A Berom youth vowed,” With or without curfew , we’ll not take this nonsense , it’s too much to take . No matter how long, we would kill them too”.