How we survived Jos attack — Victims

Some of the travellers who survived last Wednesday’s attack around Bida Bidi Junction in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State have recounted how they survived the attack.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the travellers, who were mainly residents of Kano and Nasarawa states, were on their way from Kano to Nasarawa State when hoodlums blocked the popular Zaria Highway and attacked them.

Banditry: How lack of camps worsens plight of displaced persons

PDP extends tenure of North-West, Lagos State caretaker committees

Malam Adamu, a resident of Nasarawa State, while narrating his ordeal, said, “We were coming from Kano to Nasarawa State and unexpectedly, we met some people on the road holding sticks, machetes and other dangerous weapons in their numbers; they stopped us on the road and started smashing our vehicle.

“While we were trying to get out of the vehicle, they started beating and macheting us. Luckily enough, a trailer arrived at the scene and their attention shifted towards the trailer. Some of us who were strong enough fled the area but unfortunately my friend was killed. He travelled to Kano to buy textile material. I was just lucky to have survived the attack.”

Another survivor, Nura Muhammed, who hails from Kano State, described the incident as a traumatic experience.

“We were on our way from Kano to Nasarawa, from where we were to board another vehicle to Calabar when we met some people on the road. They asked us to come out of the car and before we knew it, they started smashing the widescreen of the car. They started beating and macheting us.

“I fell down but I later stood up and fled the area. I don’t know how I survived the attack, it is the will of God that I am alive now,” Nura said.

The attack, according to security agencies, could be connected to a prior attack carried out on Tuesday at a mining site located at Yelwa-Zagam where two miners were killed.

Our correspondent reports that victims of Wednesday’s attack were taken to Bingham Teaching Hospital and the Plateau Specialist Hospital for attention. Four of the travellers were killed while six others were injured according to the leadership of JNI in the state.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that travellers who often pass through Jos to other destinations have fallen victims of such attacks in the past.

It would be recalled that on August 15, 2021, over 20 Fulani travellers were intercepted and killed by suspected hoodlums around Gada-Biyu – Rukuba Road area of the same Jos North, following attacks on some communities of Bassa LGA of the state.