Battle narratives swirl around Nigerian Army’s performance in combat zone.
By Masara Kim
Senators in Abuja are reaching out to TruthNigeria for advice following its investigative reports on the ongoing massacres of Christians in Nigeria, especially in the remote south of Plateau State.
Meanwhile, the military is struggling to maintain its reputation by denying the existence of the problem, while thousands of residents duck for cover as radical Islamist terrorists continue to spread fire, only challenged by outgunned and outnumbered civilian volunteers.
This year alone, more than 7,087 Nigeran Christians have been killed by Islamic terror groups aiming to establish a Caliphate in Africa’s most populous country, according to the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety).
More than 51 percent of these deaths have been reported in the Middle Belt, where terrorists identified by victims as Fulani militia wage daily attacks, displacing and seizing Christian villages, according to a new report by Intersociety.
Bodies of residents of Mushere Chiefdom murdered by the Fulani terrorists gathered together for mass burial.
The Fulani ethnic group, numbering over 20 million across West Africa and at least 10 million strong in Nigeria, has become one of the country’s most politically influential groups.
Their role in government has become an issue because a faction of their tribe members have been linked to thousands of genocidal acts—causing six times more Christian deaths than Boko Haram, according to the UK-based Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust.
A Daring Move
In the past one week alone, Fulani militants have killed more than 20 Christians in a series of attacks in Benue and Plateau States according to media reports.
The attacks have targeted highly vulnerable communities that had previously been displaced, TruthNigeria has learned.
Among the frequently targeted towns is Yelewata, the scene of the brutal massacre of more than 260 Christians in Benue State on June 13.
Survivors and town leaders say the violence in Benue is due to terrorists emerging from forested safe havens along the Nasarawa State border, to Plateau’s southwest.
Town leaders in Benue State’s northern counties point to safe havens for terrorists across from Benue’s northern border with Nasarawa.
As of midday on August 13, shootings were ongoing 30-60 miles south of Jos, the capital of Plateau State, with at least two fatalities reported.
The ongoing violence has resulted in the deaths of at least ten people since August 4, TruthNigeria learned.
The majority of the victims were civilian guards facing off against terrorists amid claims of military and police inaction.
Kasuwa Paje, a 39-year-old civilian guard, was among 15 volunteers hospitalized for injuries sustained during one of the attacks in the Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State.
He is one of 175 civilian guards left to protect the Mushere district located near the border with Nasarawa State where more than 25,000 residents have been displaced in recent days.
Hours before being shot in the knee on August 4, Paje had assembled a team of eight volunteers to confront more than 200 terrorists who had recently seized control of the village of Margif.
Just the day before, one person was killed and several volunteers injured in another village 3 miles away.
But Paje was willing to pay the ultimate price to liberate his home from invaders who had despoiled his carrot and corn farms the previous week.
He says his team’s homemade pipe guns were no match for the enemy’s assault rifles.
“When we arrived on motorcycles, we were met with a hail of gunfire,” Paje told TruthNigeria.
“We took cover behind rocks and fought back for several minutes,” Paje said, adding that despite being heavily outgunned, they managed to push the attackers into retreat.
However, during a tactical maneuver, Paje was struck by a bullet. “I felt a sharp pain in my knee and collapsed,” he said.
His colleagues rescued him minutes later. Three others in his team sustained injuries as well.
‘Soldiers Fail to Engage’
Meanwhile, soldiers of Operation Safe Haven, a joint military task force positioned their trucks one mile away and failed to engage the terrorists during the attack.
“They didn’t even approach,” Paje said.
The terrorists regrouped and attacked another town three miles away by daybreak, resulting in the deaths of a pastor and two others who were defending the area.
Akila Rinkaghan, leader of the guard team in Suwa, was also wounded while defending his village against an onslaught of more than 40 militants.
“We had just returned from an all-night watch around 3:00 a.m. when we heard gunshots,” Rinkaghan said, emphasizing the unresponsiveness of military forces during the attack.
A broader agenda
The violence in Mushere reflects an ongoing invasion of Bokkos County (Local Government Area) where terrorists have killed more than 100 residents this year, according to town leaders.
The Mayor of Mushere, Jonah Dyoshak told TruthNigeria at least 25,000 residents have been displaced from over ten villages now occupied by terrorist swarms emerging from Nasarawa.
“These areas in southern Mushere have effectively become ‘no-go zones’ for Christian inhabitants, serving as bases for terrorist operations,” Dyoshak explained.
“This expansion builds upon pre-existing camps in the northwest and east of Mushere, but the majority of them come from two places in the areas bordering us in Nasarawa State,” he said.
Tribal lawyer Farmasum Fuddang claimed that the attacks in Mushere are a strategic attempt by fleeing terrorists from the northeast and northwest where military operations have intensified, to capture new territories in Plateau State.
“The strategy apparently is to keep pounding the surviving communities until they are completely annihilated or they get tired and flee, enabling them to takeover,” Fuddang wrote in a press statement.
“The consequences of this would enable terrorists to move freely from the northwest and northeast, where military operations have recently intensified, to capture territory and establish safer camps throughout Plateau State, utilizing various roads and bush paths in Bokkos and neighboring Mangu, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas,” Fuddang wrote.
“Already, several communities have been seized and turned into no-go zones for Christian natives across this region.
“One major town along the road to Bokkos – Lukfai, was displaced in similar manner as recently as 2015, and abandoned homes belonging to members of the Berom, Mwagavul, and Ron ethnic groups are now occupied without modification. Government authorities have witnessed this land grab and ethnic displacement in Plateau State and seem to ignore it,” he said, highlighting challenges faced by local defense forces fighting a lone battle.
“Currently, civilian guards risking their lives to prevent these incursions are being overwhelmed by both terrorists and military forces, which means soon there will be no one left to challenge these aggressions,” wrote Fuddang, Chairman of Bokkos Cultural Development Forum Vanguard.
Crops almost ready for harvest destroyed on farmlands by the terrorists.
Army denies allegations
Colonel Dauda Magem, the commander of Operation Safe Haven, has denied these claims in a memo to the OPSH headquarters obtained by TruthNigeria.
“Therefore, the assertion is assessed to be part of efforts at sensationalising the situation in Plateau State to stir sentiment and undermine the efforts of security agencies,” Magem wrote.
“Also, there is no identified terrorist camp in the general area,” he wrote, adding “Howbeit, troops are working with local authorities in the area for possible identification and neutralisation of any terrorist camp in the area.”
He also denied claims that troops failed to respond to threats in the area. “The area no doubt witnessed some isolated attacks by suspected Fulani militias all of which troops responded appropriately and prevented the criminals from overrunning the affected communities,” he wrote.
Bokkos County Chairman Samuel Amalau has defended military interventions in the area.
“The swift intervention of security agents on Monday morning helped to prevent what could have been a larger tragedy,” Amalau wrote in a press statement.
He however acknowledged an escalation of the situation the following day.
“Tuesday’s attack was far more devastating. Eye-witnesses recount that over 500 armed Fulani militias descended upon the community in a coordinated onslaught, resulting in widespread destruction of lives and property,” he wrote, urging other law enforcement agencies to join the counter efforts of the military.
“This is not just an attack on Mushere—it is an attack on the soul of Bokkos,” Amalau stated.
“We cannot continue to watch our people be slaughtered and their livelihoods destroyed in broad daylight. Enough is enough,” he said.
A spokesman for the White House told Fox News Digital two days ago that it was concerned about rampant killings of Christians in Nigeria as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is mulling steps to address the situation.
