About 387 people killed on Sunday in an attack on in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria were given a mass burial yesterday. The victims, mainly women children and old men, were killed early Sunday morning after Hausa-Fulani fighters attacked Dogo-Na-Hawa, Ratsat and Jeji villages in Jos South Local Government.
The victims in Shen village were given a mass burial in Dogon Na Hauwa by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, in three big graves. Thirty six other victims are to be buried later in Zot village. The Nigeria Police Force is stating the number of victims at 50 people although 387 people were buried yesterday.
Mr. Solomon Zang, the Chairman of the Plateau State Recovery and Evacuation Committee, said that the number of dead might rise to 600 as more bodies are found in the gills surrounding Dogo Na Hauwa, Ratsat and Zot villages.
Most villagers had earlier rejected burying their loved ones in mass graves because they thought that the bodies would all be dumped on each other in one big grave. Mr. Zang said “The disagreement arose because they thought we would just use bulldozer to dump the bodies inside the graves, but we told them that we will give the victims a dignifying burial by arranging them one after the other inside the grave and that was what we did.”
The attacks suspected to be by Hausa-Fulani heardsmen is believed to be retaliation for attacks on January 17, 2010 crisis where some Fulanis were killed in Kuru and Barkin Ladi. The Nigeria Police Force said that 19 Fulanis had been arrested and after interrogation they admitted to taking part in the attacks on the villages on Sunday.
The police also said that four Fulanis had been shot dead by the joint security task force and the task force had recovered daggers, knives, single barrel guns, double barrel guns and live ammunition for AK 47s and other guns.
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