lost 20 members of my family in Benue killing — survivor
A survivor of the Benue killing, Michael Ajah has recounted his ordeal in the benue massacre of last Friday which claimed over 200 lives, saying that he lost at least 20 members of his family to the attack.
Ajah who disclosed this to newsmen in the state said 11 of his family members were killed in the house, eight in a store while others died in his shop.
The emotion laden survivor stated that he also lost goods and property in the attack, Ajah said.
He stated, “My people, 11 of my family members died in this house, eight died in the other store, and some died here. My family members, 20 in number, died in the attack.
“This is my store. Those shops are my stores. Those places are burnt. My house is up there, that place also is burnt. My store where I keep my goods is also burnt.
‘’They burnt everything. They burnt our food and my family members. What we came out with were our clothes we have on. And I, standing here, this is what I came out with. And this is the only thing that I have now. There is nothing else with me.’’
Describing how the attackers stormed their home late in the night during a heavy downpour, Ajah said: “On that very day, rain started in the evening, so we entered the house. I slept there. Around 10.20, we heard gunshots at the back there. So, before we realised that something was happening, Fulani men entered this place.
He added that he was certain they were Fulani men because he heard them speak.
“They were Fulani men, I heard them speaking, not that somebody told me. I was inside the room there and they surrounded the room. I escaped narrowly. My brother was burnt in this house. Some escaped. My dad was burnt in this house,” he said.
Another survivor, Bature Bartholomew, said he lost his younger brother, his sister-in-law, and his mother in the attack, adding that they were all burnt in their home.
Bartholomew, who also noted that his goods worth millions of naira were burnt during the attack, said: “I can’t say precisely the cost of what I lost but it runs into millions of naira. I store grains such as guinea corn, maize, soya beans, rice.
“My younger brother lived here. He’s no longer alive, he was burnt inside this house. He was burnt in this house, his wife, mother and many others were burnt in this house.”
