Nigerian soldiers invade Fulani village, kill 30, residents allege

Miyetti Allah threatens to sue the Federal Government.

At least 30 people believed to be Fulanis have been killed by a team of soldiers in Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, residents have said.

The soldiers stormed the Fulani settlements about a kilometre away from Keana Town in the early hours of Thursday in a convoy, and allegedly shot at every Fulani in sight.

Most of the deceased were said to be over 70 years old who were not fast enough to flee the rampage.

A witness, Ibrahim Jalo, said that about 24 corpses were evacuated from the Fulani settlements on the road to Giza Town.

“I was on my way to the office when I saw people running and later saw soldiers rushing into the town in convoy asking for the Fulani. I saw over 24 dead bodies of Fulani being taken to Lafia in a white Hilux van,” he said.

When contacted, Muhammed Husseini, secretary of Miyetti Allah, a Fulani interest group, said that over 30 Fulani were killed.

Mr. Husseini accused the Federal Government of complicity in the killing of the Fulani. He declared that his organisation would sue the government and demand for the rights of its people.

“I’m presently in the mortuary receiving corpses. They killed over 30 of our men for no reason. This is genocide and we will approach the International Criminal Court, ICC,” he threatened.

The chairman of Keana Local Government Area, Haruna Oshegba, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES. He said that eight bodies were deposited at the Specialist Hospital, Lafia.

“There is crisis in my council and it is a military operation but I don’t know the details. I’m trying to piece information together to know exactly what happened,” he said.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the hospital at around 2 p.m., a police Hilux van carrying nine bodies, and a pick-up van with a body of a dead Fulani woman were still stationed there.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Umar Numan, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident. He said that the command would address the press after getting full details on the matter.

The Nigerian military, which recently announced a heavy deployment of soldiers to Nasarawa, Benue, and Kaduna, is yet to react to Thursday’s incident.

The military announced the deployment following attacks on several communities in the states by suspected Fulani herdsmen leading to the death of scores of people.