Dennis Osadebe
A Nigerian guy has instructed the BBC how he controlled to live on an assault on his searching birthday party that left 16 of his partners lifeless, and stunned the people.
The crowd of younger males, most commonly of their 20s, was once travelling at the back of a truck after they had been prohibited through vigilantes.
“They asked us to alight from the vehicle and without saying much, one of them hit our leader on the shoulder with an axe,” Abubakar Shehu, 20, instructed BBC Pidgin.
“Then they started beating us. I was able to dodge a couple of punches and tackles and ran as far as I could.
“I fell right into a ditch, were given up and was once in a position to cover in an new trait for plenty of hours earlier than popping out round 10pm,” he said.
While hiding, he could hear the shouts and cries of his friends as they were being beaten and then burnt to death.
“I may just pay attention the entire noise from what has going down and I used to be scared for my past. Fortunately no-one noticed me,” Mr Shehu said.
He then returned to the road, where he was able to stop a truck and the driver picked him up and took him to safety.
Last week’s gruesome attack on the group from northern Nigeria heightened tensions across the country. They had spent several weeks travelling in the south hunting wild animals to sell, and were going home to celebrate Eid.
Amnesty International and other rights groups have called on the authorities to make sure justice is served.
President Bola Tinubu also condemned the killings, saying that Nigerians had the right to move freely anywhere in the country. He ordered security agencies to find the killers, adding that “forest justice” had no place in the country.
Police say they have arrested 14 people in relation to the case and many across the country will be closely following to see how the case pans out.
Relations between northern and southern Nigerians are fraught following years of clashes between northern animal herders and southern farmers over access to water and grazing land, which have left thousands dead.
Along with the lack of security across Nigeria, this is one of the reasons why residents of Uromi town in Edo state, and many others, have set up vigilante groups.
The hunters from the northern Kano state were armed with traditional rifles but they say they showed licences for these weapons when they were stopped by the vigilantes.
For the family of the victims in Toronkawa village, the cries and mourning continue more than a week after the horrific incident.
Adama Ali, the mother of one of the victims, is devastated. “I stored calling his telephone however no-one was once choosing up,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Earlier this week, Edo state governor Monday Okpebholo visited his Kano counterpart to try and ease tensions. He also paid his condolences to the victims’ families and promised them compensation.
Having lost so many of its young men, the village is still in mourning as everyone knows the victims. Their families houses are full of guests paying their condolences.
The chairman of the villages’ hunters association, Mustapha Usman, said nothing would please them more than seeing justice served.
Mr Shehu agrees.
“I thank God for sparing my past and bringing me again house and I pray for those who misplaced their lives,” he stated.
