On 25 July, residents in Plateau State held a funeral procession for 27 Christians massacred in one village 10 days earlier, despite warning authorities of the impending danger, sources said.
Accompanied by multitudes, the 27 caskets were transported from a mortuary in Jos to their native Bindi (Jebbu) village, Riyom County, where they held a funeral and mass burial following the unprovoked 15 July attack by Fulani herdsmen.
The herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian village at about 11pm as residents slept. Sources report that houses were set ablaze and many people were wounded as the herdsmen went from house to house in their attack.
“These are dead bodies of innocent Christians who were brutally and gruesomely murdered during their sleep by Muslim Fulani killer herdsmen and terrorists in a community situated less than 200 metres from a military checkpoint in Riyom Local Government Area,” rights activist James Nyango told sources. “The fact that this community noticed and reported the imminent attack to the military officers at that military checkpoint makes it more worrisome, suspicious and raises many questions.”
“This attack occurred despite the visible presence of security forces in and around the area, including armoured military assets,” area rights advocate Gideon Manjal said. “The identities and hideouts of these attackers are known to authorities, yet no meaningful action has been taken to dismantle them.”
“These are people whose primary occupation is farming, and the continued violence is not only destroying lives but also threatening food security and livelihoods,” Dachungyang said.
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