"We Were Sleeping When Fulani Herdsmen Attacked, Killed My Husband and Children" — Survivor of Plateau Massacre Recounts Horror

 In the aftermath of a brutal overnight attack in Plateau State, a grieving mother and survivor, Asabe Moses, has recounted the horrifying moment when suspected Fulani herdsmen stormed her village, killing her husband and three sons and burning down their home.

The attack, which occurred in the early hours in one of the conflict-ridden communities in Bokkos Local Government Area, is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on farming villages across Nigeria’s Middle Belt. The incident has reignited calls for stronger security measures and justice for the affected communities.

“We were sleeping in the night when the Fulani herdsmen came in. They were speaking their dialect — I understood it. They killed my husband and my three sons, aged 14, 10, and just 2 years old,” Asabe Moses said tearfully.

According to eyewitnesses and local leaders, the attackers came heavily armed and began shooting indiscriminately, torching homes and forcing villagers to flee into the bush. By morning, several houses were reduced to ashes, and bodies were recovered from the ruins.

Asabe is one of the few survivors from her household. “They set our house on fire after the killings. I only escaped with the clothes I was wearing. I don’t know where to start from,” she added.

Plateau State has witnessed frequent communal and ethnic clashes over land, grazing rights, and religious differences, particularly between farming communities and nomadic herders. Despite multiple peace accords and security interventions, attacks continue to erupt with devastating consequences.

Human rights groups have accused the federal government of negligence and a lack of political will to bring perpetrators to justice. Many survivors, like Asabe Moses, now live in fear, displaced from their homes and uncertain of what the future holds.

Community leaders are appealing for urgent intervention from the federal government and security agencies. "We cannot continue to count our dead and bury loved ones while no one is held accountable," said one local official. “If the government cannot protect us, what hope do we have as citizens?”

Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations are working to provide emergency aid to survivors, many of whom are now homeless and traumatized.

Asabe’s story is one among many — a painful reminder of the human cost of Nigeria’s unresolved farmer-herder crisis, and the urgent need for action to end the cycle of violence.