A woman simply identified as Zainab was delivered of a baby boy in the open in Mangu town of Plateau State as killings and destruction of properties continued unabated late into the night of Tuesday and yesterday, Daily Trust reports.
This is coming as some of the victims of the fresh violence that broke out in Mangu Local Government Area of the state continued to narrate their harrowing tales.
Also, leaders of Christian and Islamic religious groups are accusing the military and a vigilante group called Operation Rainbow of taking sides in the conflict.
It was gathered that the fresh attacks, which started early on Tuesday left many people dead, according to local sources.
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Although security sources could not give official confirmation of the death toll, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) said it lost 13 of its members while the Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA) put the death toll of its members at 30.
Efforts to verify these claims were unsuccessful as the Nigeria Red Cross officials said they were focusing greater attention to providing humanitarian relief than counting dead bodies.
The attacks, it was gathered, continued on Wednesday morning despite the 24-hour curfew imposed on Tuesday by the state governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
‘My baby dropped on the street’
Zainab, who was heavily pregnant when the killings started, narrated how she was frightened by the deafening sounds of guns and the sight of people being killed, only to suddenly feel a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.
The 25-year-old mother of two said out of shock, her baby slipped out of her while she was standing in the open, oblivious of what to do.
“When I noticed that the baby was coming out, I knelt immediately to ensure the baby was safely delivered.
“There was no medical assistance, sterilized equipment, or conducive atmosphere. It was a neighbour who stopped to assist me as everyone else fled,” she said.
According to her, “There was no hospital nearby. Even right now, we couldn’t take the baby to hospital due to the curfew and my stomach has been hurting badly.
“Right now (Wednesday afternoon) there are gunshots everywhere and as for the baby, we haven’t even bathed him since we can’t even get hot water. I also haven’t taken hot water myself,” she narrated to one of our reporters via a phone call.
“As for my other children, I don’t know where they are; I don’t even know where my husband is,” she added. Shafa’atu, the only neighbour who stood back to help deliver Zainab’s baby also shared her version of the story with Daily Trust.
“It was in the process of running with the five orphans in my care that I saw her on the streets in a bad situation and everyone was running away. So, I decided to go and help her. I still don’t know the whereabouts of my husband and one of the orphans in my care,” she said.
Another woman, Maryam, narrated how she discovered the decapitated body of her husband.
“I could not (run?) because I had been sick for the past four months. But after fleeing to a seemingly safe place, we heard that our house was burnt, and my shop and belongings I bought in preparation for my son’s wedding worth millions of naira were burnt.
“So, I became worried about my kids and started calling my husband’s phone to know where he was. The phone kept ringing and no one to pick and thereafter, it was switched off.
“When I finally saw my kids, they also said they were looking for their dad. Then we met a woman who asked if I saw my husband, and she told me where she saw him but pleaded that I had to be patient because he had been killed,” she said. Husseina Salihu Maisaje, the sister of Maryam’s husband, also corroborated Maryam’s version of how they discovered that her brother was killed, and that they found his decapitated body burnt.
She said most of the women who escaped Tuesday’s attacks were looking for their children.
How violence escalated
Killings and burning of houses continued in Mangu on Tuesday, despite a 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government.
Governor Celeb Mutfwang, who hails from the troubled local government area, had imposed a curfew after fresh killings were recorded in the area.
But the crisis continued yesterday as residents of Mangu confirmed that gunmen stormed several communities, shooting at everyone in sight.
Suleiman Muhammad, a resident, of Mangu, told Daily Trust that: “At around 9:30am this morning (Wednesday), gunmen armed with sophisticated weapons came and started shooting sporadically. They burnt a lot of houses and schools including the Sunnah Islamiyya School, Islamic Nursery, Primary and Secondary School, Arewa Model Private School, Arewa College of Health, Mangu, and Audi Musa Memorial School, Mangu.
“Some persons were killed; they have overwhelmed the security personnel currently in Mangu. We are surrounded by the gunmen. They burnt down all the religious centres and houses in Anguwan Fyemawa, Anguwan Hayi, Anguwan Kwata, and Anguwan Maijirgi – all in ward 2 of Mangu”, he said.
Operation Rainbow accused of extrajudicial killings, arson
Muslims in some communities are accusing the state-owned security outfit code named ‘Operation Rainbow’ of extrajudicial killings and arson within Mangu town. Salisu Mu’azu, a resident of the Kwata community told our reporter that gunmen led by Operation Rainbow stormed their community around 9:30am yesterday and started shooting and burning of houses.
Another resident of Anguwan Fyemawa, Ibrahim Isa, also accused Operation Rainbow and a mob of invading their community.
He said: “There is lawlessness now in Mangu. Killings and gunshots are going on everywhere. We don’t know how many people have died. We have not been able to bury the corpses we have on the ground because of the situation. Now we are recording more deaths.” Musa Salisu, a resident of Hayi community in Mangu, also decried the activities of Operation Rainbow in his area.
He said: “We are begging the federal government to come to our aid. We are being killed; our houses are being burnt. Where is the security in Mangu? Is Operation Rainbow the only force we have to tackle this problem? Personnel of the Operation are only killing us instead of restoring peace.”
They’re hired killers – JNI
The Plateau State chapter of JNI has also accused Operation Rainbow of lop-sidedness in its operation.
A statement signed by the state Secretary of the group, Dr Salim Musa Umar, condemned the violence in Mangu, and called on security agencies to rise up to the occasion to salvage the lives and properties of the people in the area.
“Reports from Mangu town this morning are not encouraging, as places of worship and faith-based schools were torched and demolished while the killings continue. Residents are decrying the negative role of the state government’s security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Rainbow’, accusing them of glaring partisanship.
“Security agents should be on the lookout for possible infiltrators as it is widely alleged that some hired killers are on the prowl with the intent to carry out massive attacks on Muslims in the community. This is an act that shouldn’t be allowed to happen”, Salim appealed.
However, the Public Relations Officer of the security outfit, Panam Gongden, denied the allegations labelled against it.
He said, “Operation Rainbow belongs to everyone and it compromises of conventional police, immigration, Civil Defence and other security agencies.
“We wonder how some people will be accusing us of taking side. The dispatch of personnel is not done based on ethnicity or religion. It is a joined patrol. It is just baseless. People who have lost touch with what they are sent to do will definitely make such accusations”, he said.
Some members of Muslim communities in Mangu local government area have lamented the condition of the corpses recorded in the crisis, saying that the fluid security situation in the area does not allow them to bury their dead.
Adamu Abdulssalam, Deputy Chairman of the JNI in Mangu, said: “We have 13 corpses in the mosque but we cannot bury them. There is fear of taking the corpses to the graveyard for burial and they are now decomposing.”
We are going to fight – says CAN chairman
In a video that went viral, the Mangu LGA Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Timothy Daluk, said yesterday that if the government did not listen to their plea, they were prepared to fight until the last drop of their blood.
The CAN chairman also said he would personally call a meeting of pastors to that effect, adding that they have tried all they could to ensure peace in Mangu but could not achieve such.
Rev. Daluk, who accused the Nigerian Army of lop-sidedness in their operation in Mangu, called for the withdrawal of all soldiers in the area, adding that their presence does not provide any positive impact.
In the trending video on social media, the religious leader called on the military to pack their loads and leave their communities.
Captain Oya James, spokesperson of the military team in the state codenamed Operation Safe Haven, did not respond to a message requesting for his response to the allegations.
Rev. Daluk said: “I am the CAN chairman of Mangu LG. I am here to report the situation in Mangu to the whole world to understand. What is happening in Mangu, at this particular point in time, the military are the ones chasing our people to allow militia to burn their houses. At this particular point in time, they have sent every Christian away from New Market.
“And they are leaving the Muslims to burn their houses. They said there is curfew but they only restricted the curfew to people within Christian domain. But the Muslim domain, they are free to move and do whatever they wanted to do. And not only that, the military has killed three of our young men in which I know. One is even from own Church. They killed one yesterday. And I reported to the security, he said he is a fake soldier.
“At first, he said I was lying, but when I proved to him beyond reasonable doubt, he finally accepted that he is not a fake soldier. I said it is the real soldier that killed him. Finally, he disappeared from the scene. Now that I am speaking to you, all of them have switched off their phones and they allowed the place to be burned and razed by the people and this is what is happening as I am speaking to you.
“People around Gindiri Junction, down from this side (pointing at a direction with his hand), their houses are now ablaze because the soldiers protected them and allowed them to burn people’s houses. They are not doing anything about it. So, we in Mangu LGA, as far as Christians are concerned, we don’t want the military in Mangu LGA. They should park their loads and go. We don’t want them. We don’t want them and we don’t need them because they have planned. They have been bought. They have been paid to carry out what they are doing. For that reason, I am calling on the whole world to understand that this thing should stop,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the CAN chairman said they were still collating the number of their killed members as well as those injured or displaced.
Rev Daluk said those injured were taken to Nanret Hospital in Mangu, but that they buried three dead victims yesterday (Wednesday).
According to him, some of the military personnel jumped through the fence of ECWA Church Number 1, Mangu, where he was, and then seized the light weapons some persons were carrying to protect the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the premises, and also harassed some of the IDPs around.
Mwaghavul group expresses sadness, deplores security personnel
On its part, the leadership of the Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA) had expressed sadness at the breakdown of law and order in Mangu town.
This was contained in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Mr Lawrence Kyarshik.
“The Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barr Caleb Mutfwang yesterday, in a swift reaction to curtail the situation imposed a 24-hr curfew in Mangu, only for the Fulani to unleash mayhem on Kwahaslalek, leaving over 30 people dead, houses completely raised down and properties, including food items, destroyed with fire.
“One then wonders how these criminals operated without any resistance from the security personnel already deployed in the area. Sadly enough, a security alert received on Monday, 22nd had shown that there were pending attacks in Mangu and other places, yet these carnages went on unhindered.
“The MDA frowns at the activities of some of the military personnel who appear to be complacent in carrying out the constitutional duties they swore to protect all citizens of the country, irrespective of tribe and religion,” he said.
The spokesperson said the Mwaghavul Nation and Christians in Mangu have coexisted peacefully with Muslims in the area for decades, and that most of them are even brothers who have inter-married.
He decried that their brothers have however allowed bad elements to settle amongst them and used them against their own brothers and sisters.
No comment from military
The spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, maintaining peace in the area, Captain Oya James, did not respond to inquiries by our correspondent regarding the current developments.
However, the Plateau State government said it was working hard to restore peace, not just in Mangu, but everywhere in the state.
Musa Ashom, Commissioner for Communication and Information, who could not give casualty figure said: “We condemn the destruction of properties in totality and will not be cowed into making sensational statements.
“Religious bodies should do more to preach peace, tolerance, and harmonious co-existence than invest so much energy in fanning the embers of disaffection and misleading the public”, he said.
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