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… How military machine gun destroyed my hand, by victim
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
Mrs Dandem and children, Longs (middle) and Yusuf
Many families in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State will not forget February in a hurry. It was the month hell was let loose on their community, leaving many nursing wounds while some were completely shattered as their breadwinners are no more.
Some of the survivors, who live to tell their stories, accused the military taskforce responsible for the maintenance of peace in the state of carrying out unprofessional operations. According to them, the soldiers did not follow the rule of engagement in dealing with helpless civilians, leading to death and the amputation of a victim.
Mr Sunday Yusuf, one of the survivors of the cruelty, alleged that the incident of February 24, by some team of soldiers has placed him under critical condition that he cannot help himself nor cater for his family.
Narrating his ordeal to Daily Sun Newspaper, he said: “When we heard gun shots, we were wondering who could be that again knowing full well that a family of five in our community were burnt alive. Lo and behold, we saw soldiers and we were not carrying any thing in our hands, if not for my handset that I’m holding. We were relaxed, thinking they were going to protect us.
Yusuf
“But the soldiers started shooting sporadically. We told our people to lie down immediately so that nobody will be hit by bullets. So, as I was telling people to squat, one woman was telling a brother to run into her room.
“As the man was running into the room, a soldier aimed his gun at him and shot him. So, I rushed, trying to save the woman and the bullet piece him and cut my hand. The bullet fell inside one motor; that; that was how we picked it.
“I lost so much blood. They had to carry out a blood transfusion for me before treating the hand and I have spent about N200,000 already. The treatment is still ongoing, I often go for the dressing of the wound.”
The traumatized Yusuf said family members and kind-hearted people have been helping with some of his medical bills, as the long expected government intervention have not yet come his way.
“Government earlier said they will intervene but we have not seen any intervention yet. We are the ones still buying drugs for ourselves, offsetting bills by ourselves,” he said.
He further lamented about the breadwinner of a family Mr Damden Dafur Datom, who was killed. “We don’t know what to do now, even me, my children are in school. I don’t know what to do with them at the moment and that is why we are asking for assistance so that it will help us to run the family,” he stated.
The spokesperson of the families, Mr Longs Datom, lamented that the deceased, Mr. Sunday Yusuf, the youth leaders of the community, and some women at the scene of the incident were unarmed and defenceless civilians who ordinarily were supposed to be protected by the military but were instead shot at close range, contrary to the rules of engagement of the military
“We have written letters through some of our concerned lawyers to the Inspector General of Police, demanding thorough investigation and prosecution,” he said.
He said a petition was written to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa on behalf of the deceased family. Governor Caleb Mutfwang, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; the GOC, 3rd Division and Commander Operation Safe Haven, Rukuba Barracks, Jos, the DSS and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice were also copied.
The letter reads: “We call on the high military command to launch a thorough investigation to unmask those behind the killing and ensure justice is served. Two weeks was given to the military to respond to the petition, which elapsed on the February 20.
“The deceased is the breadwinner of the family. He left behind his wife, Mrs. Tina Damden, and three children – Plangnan Damden,14, Peret Damden (nine) and Dyelshak Damden (six) while Mr. Sunday Yusuf, a farmer, whose hand has been amputated will permanently suffer disability and will no longer go to the farm to feed his family, has four children and a wife with nobody to help.”
The deceased’s wife, Tina, and the amputee, Yusuf, said they are calling on the government and the military to compensate them so they can cater for their families.
The then spokesperson of the Special Force Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Capt. James Oya, said he was not aware of the incident but informed that since the families have written a petition, the petition unit of the task-force will respond to them.
Oya said the story as narrated by Dantom might not be true as the military cannot just open fire on innocent unarmed civilians who simply approached them for safety or to seek information.
