A Fulani elder who has lived in Hurti community, Manguna District of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, for over three decades, has confirmed that the armed men who invaded the village and killed 46 people were members of his own tribe.
Daily Post reports that the revelation came through a video shared on Tuesday by journalist Masara Kim Usman, in which the respected community leader recounted how his pleas to stop the massacre were ignored by the attackers.
According to the elder, who is widely regarded as a peaceful figure in the community despite being Fulani and Muslim, the gunmen spoke the Fulani dialect fluently as they launched the attack on Christian residents.
He said he stepped forward to confront the invaders, speaking to them in their language and appealing for restraint.
The elder explained that terrified women and children ran to him for protection, hoping that his identity would persuade the attackers.
However, the gunmen allegedly rebuffed him. He recounted that they told him nothing would stop them from carrying out their mission.
He said the attackers forcefully shoved him aside before proceeding to unleash violence on the community, shooting indiscriminately and burning homes belonging to Christian residents.
The rampage, he said, left 46 people dead, with several houses razed.
The elder added that what pained him most was that the killers were his own tribesmen, refusing to heed his pleas to spare people he had lived with “as friends and family” for 32 years.
A notable detail from his account is that no Muslim or Fulani resident in Hurti was attacked during the invasion, a pattern that residents say reinforces the religious undertone of killings in parts of the Middle Belt.
This stands in contrast to the insurgency in the Northeast and banditry in the Northwest, which often target Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Narrating further, the elder said: “Women were trooping to my place and begging me to rescue them. If I had the power to rescue them, I would have done so.
“I have been living with them for so many years and they have become my family. When they left, I went to the hills and watched the whole scenario.
“Then they regrouped and started shooting. There was shooting all over the town. We all hid in one room while the shooting continued for a long time, killing plenty of people.”
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