Fiery Nigerian cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo has called for healing and restoration after visiting various Plateau communities sacked by suspected Fulani terrorists who have left memories of silent graveyards and ruined households.
Rev. Dachomo who disclosed that “We visited Rahieshow village in Barkin Ladi and my heart is still heavy,” stressed, “May God remember His people” and “bring justice healing and restoration.”
Fiery Nigerian cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo praying with a remnant in one of the communities he visited.
He narrated that “eleven years ago this land was full of life a peaceful home of the Berom people blessed with fertile soil and abundance,” clarifying that the people “They “lived in love and trust even welcoming Fulani settlers as neighbours not knowing what the future would hold.”
The cleric alleged that everything seemed okay until one “night that changed everything” for the community when “gunfire fear screams and helplessness filled the air,” and “families ran for their lives leaving behind their homes their farms their memories everything they ever knew.”
He lamented that “Today Rahieshow is no more,” stressing that what is left is “Only silence ruins and land taken over.”
Plateau communities left in ruins following attacks by suspected Fulani militia.
The Senior Pastor in Charge of Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) Barkin Ladi further stated that “Their homes turned to dust their fields now grazing ground for cattle while those who once lived there are scattered across Barkin Ladi and Jos still trying to survive after eleven painful years.”
In other sister communities he visited, the advocate for the safety and welfare of Christians in the Middle Belt Region of the country highlighted that “We went further to Shol and Tanjol” and witnessed “more graves, more tears more stories of lives cut short.”
The Pastor known for conducting mass funerals for Christians on the Plateau killed in genocidal attacks bemoaned the fact that “In Jol alone,” there were “over thirteen mass burials.”
According to him “Just yesterday a man was killed at dawn,” in Jol community from where his team headed to other ghost communities.
“One young man held my hand and said, Boss na only you we dey watch now for Facebook
Those words broke me,” said he.
The outspoken religious leader stated, “This is not just violence. This is a slow erasing of a people their land their history their identity.”
Urging for concrete action to protect indigenous Christian communities from becoming extinct, the Plateau-born man of God insisted, “If nothing is done these communities may disappear completely.”
A grave of martyred Christians in one of the communities.
Acknowledging the place of divine support amid the precarious situation in the state, the clergyman underscored that “in the midst of all this pain I saw something powerful,” adding that in all, there is “faith that refuses to die.”
The courageous leader shared how “Young people [are] still standing still believing still fighting for their people and their future,” while saying to people of goodwill, “Please do not look away.”
“We prayed there, we cried there, we stood with the few who still hold on to hope that one day they will return,” said he.
Media reports indicate that over 64 communities plus 151 hamlets and villages in Plateau State have been violently taken over by suspected Fulani attackers across Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos, Mangu and Riyom LGAs.
Editor’s Note: All photos are courtesy of Ezekiel Dachomo.
