Burial of over 200 victims of the recent attacks in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen generated a serious controversy following allegations that security agencies wanted to carry out the exercise in secret.
Sources said that relatives of the deceased wanted to pick the corpses for burial because they have started decomposing, while tension continued to escalate despite the dusk to dawn curfew imposed by the government.
Already, some travellers coming in and out of Jos were said to have been killed.
The attack was said to have spread to a village called Kwi where an old woman who could not escape was reportedly killed while many houses were burnt.
Chairman, Public Accounts and Petition Committee in Plateau State House of Assembly representing Barkin Ladi constituency, Mr Peter Gyendeng, and President of Middle Belt Youth Council, Mr Emma Zopmal, in an interview with our correspondent, believed that the planned secret burial was to cover up some facts and conspiracy of soldiers in the killings.
According to them, every effort they made to evacuate the corpses for burial met a stiff resistance from the military hierarchy.
But Commander of Special Military Task force codenamed Operation Safe Haven, Mr Anthony Atolagbe, explained that state of the corpses was so bad that if allowed to be taken away, it would stir up serious tensions and mayhem in the state.
Gyendeng said, “We tried to take all the corpses to give them mass burial. But STF Commandant stopped every movement that we made concerning the dead bodies. In fact, he did not allow anybody to go there yesterday (Sunday). We organised our own security and mobile policemen to escort us there. But we were stopped on the road.
“Our people stayed there till 6:pm, we had to come back for security reasons too. The corpses are still there and they have started decomposing. I’m just entering my LG now to see what else could be done. We have taken pictures of the corpses.
“It is obvious that the government does not want the world to know the genocide that is happening in my place. They are trying to cover the number of dead people in that place. All we know is that there is genocide in our land. Today (Monday), they entered a village called Kwi, there was community resistance. In a village called Bed, they sent armed soldiers to come and disarm local people who were defending themselves.
“Yesterday (Sunday), Fulani militia wanted to enter the area. But now, soldiers have been sent to disarm local people, leaving them helpless. We don’t know what is happening, it is something that cannot be explained. A curfew was imposed yesterday (Sunday). But Fulani men and their cows were escorted by soldiers at night.”
The legislator promised to make the correct figure and gory pictures of the deceased available on Tuesday (today), during parliamentary sitting.
According to Zopmal, affected communities should resist the planned secret burial because the corpses did not belong to security agencies and the government.
He said, “The planned secret burial is a conspiracy. We know that there is collusion between security agencies and Fulani people. There is no way you can force people to bury their relations when they are not ready for it. The dead bodies belong to them, so they are not government’s corpses that they will now decide when to bury them.
“Affected communities should not allow that to happen. Security agencies did not protect them. Why should they decide the burial for them? It doesn’t make any sense, they are trying to cover up what they have done. It is all part of the same attitude that Nigerian government has been exhibiting.”
While faulting the approach of the state government, MBYC called on Governor Simon Lalong to “immediately lift the curfew and devise another means of protecting the people.”
But reacting to the allegation, Atolagbe, told our correspondent that he did not stop Berom ethnic nationality and relatives of the deceased from carrying the corpses.
According to him, President of Berom Youth Moulders Association, Mr Choji Dalyop Chuwang, and leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, have agreed with him on what best should be done about the corpses to avoid another crisis.
Atolagbe also denied the allegation that trucks of cows were escorted by soldiers despite the curfew, while local vigilante natives were disarmed, saying, “nobody did that, it’s not true.”
When contacted, a male voice said BYM President was with the governor over the crisis and would call back after the meeting.
During a brief chat with one of our correspondents, Chuwang said, “I am having a running stomach, if you give me a few minutes, I will attend to you.”
But several calls and SMS to him to confirm if really he approved the secret burial were not replied.
Punch
