It will be recalled that a sad development was reported to had occurred in the night of 27th December, 2020 in one of Plateau villages. True to that, ECCVN visited the scene and found out that Mr. Markus Danan, aged 31 of Dangyel of Vwang District in Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State was found dead as a result of gunshot during an armed invasion by suspected Fulani militia and cohorts, who stormed the area at about 6:30pm or thereabout.Leaving behind to mourn him is his wife, Mrs. Nvou Markus with 4 children who couldn’t expressed her state of mind over the nostalgic separation caused, but an eyewitness’s account has it that, “we were at home observing the euphoria of Christmas festival around 6:30pm of yesterday, 27th December, 2020, we heard Cows mooing right inside Dangyel, our village, and such had never happened again ever since the time Fulani attacked us. People raised alarm which informed us to step and gently asked the herders to drive their cows away but they turned deaf ears to our plea. When they failed, we drove away the Cows to the outskirt of our residence,” Mr. Joshua Luka narrated. On the aftermath of driving away the Cows, Mr. Joshua responded that, “we spotted armed Fulani alongside 2 people in military uniform, thinking the uniform men were here to forestall a possible break of law. Shockingly at about 7:00pm while we were watching out during vigilance, we heard heavy gunfire which struck down my friend, Mr. Markus Danan, who cried out that he has been shot. We rushed and picked him up but the attackers still came after us with heavy power. Graciously, we escaped but my friend gave up his ghost after some 10 minutes” of the gunshot as the attack was snappishly carried out.In a similar reaction, Mr. John Dachung, who is the Development Chairman of Dangyel expressed his indignation over the killing of the promising youth by the attackers, who have continually constituted threats not only to Dangyel, but also neighboring villages. He said, “the Fulani have forcefully established a settlement close by, wherefrom they always launch attacks, destroy farmed crops and all sort of mischievous grazing being daily perpetuated with no restrain at all. We are living in dungeon of gradual extinction with silence as response despite repeatedly crying out aloud to the appropriate authorities.” He added that, “we had a sleepless night because of the terror visited on us by armed Fulani militia group. What shocked us most is the 2 uniform men in military kits apprehended this morning at the exact spot where the incident occurred, really perplexing; they duo came on private blue Jincheng motorcycle as against the official motorcycles used by personnel of Operation Safe Haven-OPSH in the State. They had no means of identification such as ID Card, name-tags except their military rifles, which raised high suspicions that made us draw the attention of security agents of Nigerian Police Force of K-Vom Division whom the suspects were handed over to for preliminary investigation” that is believed to have commenced. In addition, one Cow belonging to the suspected attackers was found within the vicinity of the incident and also handed over to the Police as part of exhibits in building the case of culpable homicide reportedly occasioned.Another respondent, who spoke to ECCVN on the perpetuity of armed invasions the village had witnessed previously. He said, “it’s on record that Dangyel village has had not less than 14 attacks by Fulani militias, but no government presence felt. We are left to our fate at the mercy of the attackers whose modus operandi aims at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing for economic dominance religiously pursued in Fulani hegemonic agenda,” said Mr. Michael Choji, a pastor with New Life Church, Dangyel. He buttressed the fact of food insecurity looming up in the incoming year as virtually every farmed crop was touched by uncivil conduct of Fulani in the area.The ongoing security challenges, ranging from terror attacks, isolated killings, kidnapping, increasing mischievous grazing, threats and intimidations, land grabbing, banditry and many others confronting native inhabitants in Plateau State and other parts of Central Nigeria apparently gaining prominence of seeming acceptability, thereby projecting the country as failed state internationally, ECCVN hereby urges relevant authorities to, as a matter urgency, rise up to the occasion, and deliberately come up with requisite modalities of curbing down the menaces have indelibly registered omens in the minds of right thinking individuals whose future, especially the coming year, 2021 has become a bleak season if the current insecurity is not nipped in the bud for corporate existence of this geographical entity, Nigeria. There’s also need for economic policies that will gear at providing succour such as relief intervention programs alleviating the undeniable plight of affected natives whose means of livelihood has been gravely truncated by the aforementioned indices so that a commoner can truthfully attest the impacts of good governance as acclaimed.By Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, Esq.Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria-ECCVN
