A Fulani leader who has lived in the Hurti community of Manguna District in Bokkos local government area of Plateau State for 32 years, has confirmed that the attackers who recently invaded the community and killed 46 people were members of his tribe who spoke the Fulani language while carrying out the deadly attack.

A video shared by journalist Masara Kim Usman on Tuesday, revealed that the respected Fulani elder has been living with the people of the Hurti community and was regarded as one of them, even though he is a Muslim and a Fulani man, because he has always been a man of peace who related with everyone like one family.

According to the Fulani elder, when the Fulani terrorists invaded the community, they spoke his dialect and he had tried to protect the vulnerable residents whom he describes as “friends.”

He said he jumped in front of the invaders, spoke in their dialect to them, asking why they wanted to kill the people, but they replied that nothing would stop them from carrying out their mission.

The elder stated that despite his pleas on behalf of the people, the bandits threatened to kill him as well if he did not get out of their way.

According to him, the Fulani bandits forcefully pushed him out of the way and went on a rampage, killing 46 people and burning down houses belonging to Christians.

He added that what really pained him was the fact that the killers were his own tribesmen who refused to listen to his pleas to spare the people he had lived with for so long and regarded as friends and family.

Remarkably, during the invasion, no Muslim or Fulani resident was harmed, underscoring the religious motivation behind the attacks credited to Fulani militants in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, which contrasts sharply with the insurgency in the Northeast and the so-called bandit terrorism in the Northwest, which targets Christians and other minority groups.

Narrating the incident, the Fulani elder said:

“I heard them speaking fluent Fulani language. They were discussing in the Fulani language. So I approached them and spoke to them in the same language. Women were trooping to my place and begging me to rescue them. If I had the power to rescue them, I would have done so.

“I have been living with them for so many years and they have become my family. When they left, I went to the hills and watched the whole scenario.

“Then they regrouped and started shooting. There was shooting all over the town. We all hid in one room while the shooting continued for a long time, killing plenty of people.”