Jos: Corpses stuffed in well in Mangu village

The corpses were discovered by inhabitants of Kwari village when the member representing Mangu North-East in the State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Ladan Garkuwa led a delegation to assess the level of destruction of lives and property in Mangu (his constituency) following the outbreak of civil disturbances in the state last month.  

The village head of Kwari, Malam Muhammad Umaru told Weekly Trust that people from Barkin Ladi local government attacked them in the early hours of Thursday (a fortnight ago), adding that five of his people have been killed in the attack while all their property had been burnt in the mayhem.

According to some of the villagers, the corpses of the people killed were earlier burried according to Islamic rites “but when we left they exhumed and stuffed them in a well”, said one of the villagers who pleaded anonymity.

He further alleged that the village head of Doka, a nearby village, was also killed by the attackers

Further investigation by our correspondent in the area revealed that most of the wells in the areas which were attacked, apart from the several houses that were burnt, were polluted with some unidentified chemical, which renders the only source of water for the communities useless.

Communities in Langai District of Mangu have further alleged that the claim by the member representing Barkin Ladi constituency in the state House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani, that there was no attack on the people of the area during the recent crises in the state was untrue.

Speaking on behalf of the communities during the inspection tour, President of Pyem Chiefdom Development Association (PCDA), John Tagwe said anybody who claimed that the Pyem Chiefdom was not attacked was only trying to be economical with the truth.

According to him, Gyang Fulani, who represents Barkin Ladi constituency which shares common boundary with the communities that were attacked has stated in a Hausa service programme of Radio France International that there was no attack within the mentioned areas, a claim which the PCDA president dismissed, saying “anybody who denies that fact has not done justice to himself and our chiefdom.

Tagwe who decried the poor condition of the refugees who are currently taking refuge in Langai, said the Pyem Chiefdom has a long history of peaceful co-existence among the various ethnic and religious groups co-habiting in the area, stressing that “we are law abiding people, we will not take the law into our hands but the fact that some people are trying to hide the injustice done to us is very unfair.”

Tagwe further stressed that the communities attacked in the area which comprised of Pyem and Fulani people include Kwari, Doka, Jalamunde, Gyambos Rinji and Donga, among others, adding that “the houses in those areas, which are up to 129, were burnt, scores of people have been killed while their property and silos were looted and burnt too. We are now grappling with about 5,000 refugees who came to Langai.”

He added: “We, therefore, want the state government and the state assembly to set up a committee to come and inspect what happened to our people so that they can confirm for themselves and assist them with relief materials.”