You are a commercial driver. How long have you been driving?
I have been driving for the past 27 years and I have travelled to almost all the states in this country. I’m from Ajowa Akoko in the Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State and I am 52 years old.
Which routes do you normally ply?
I have been plying interstate routes. As I said, I convey people to towns and cities of many states across the country.
You were among the travellers from Ondo State, who were attacked by some youths in Jos, Plateau State, a few days ago, and you survived the attack. How will you describe the journey?
It was rough, tough and traumatic in Jos that day, but we thank God that some of us are still alive to tell the story. I have never embarked on a journey like that.
How did it happen? Can you relate your experience?
As I said, it was a very unpalatable and traumatic experience. I had never encountered such in my 27 years of being in the driving profession. I was hired by some Fulani living here in Akoko to convey them to Bauchi State. As a matter of fact, five buses were chartered from Ondo State by these people. They were going for the Zikri Islamic programme in their hometown in Bauchi State. It is an annual programme. Like I said, five buses were chartered – two from Ikaramu Akoko, two from Ikare Akoko, while the other one was from Isua Akoko – and all of us met at the Akunu junction and we moved together in a convoy. We started the journey around 2pm on Thursday, August 12, 2021. We got to Bauchi the following morning and the programme was held as scheduled. From what I saw, many people came to the town from almost all parts of the country for the programme.
The programme ended on Friday evening and we took off early on Saturday morning in a convoy in the same way we came. We reached Jos around 10am. As we entered Jos, suddenly we met many youths on the road, who blocked the road and they were all bearing cutlasses, arrows, guns, broken bottles and many other weapons. Before we knew what was happening, they had started opening the buses dragging everybody out; those who were trying to escape were beaten to death. As that was continuing, some of the youth set a vehicle ablaze.
As all these were going on, how did you escape from the scene?
I will say it is by miracle. In our convoy, my bus was the last; as they were dragging everybody out of the buses, I had to put my bus to the reverse gear. Though they were hitting the bus with stones and sticks, I just continued in reverse; they were hitting me on the steering wheel and chasing me, but I kept on going. They smashed the windscreens of the bus, yet I didn’t stop because if I did, they would have killed me and also set the bus ablaze.
I moved in reverse motion for up to 10 kilometres away from the scene. I saw a street and out of fear, I entered the street and I also saw an unpaved road and turned to it and I was going until I reached an army barracks. I didn’t want to enter the barracks, but there is a road beside the army barracks, I now parked on the road and I alighted from the bus. Shortly after, I saw an ambulance conveying corpses; I went to the driver of the ambulance and begged him to assist me.
I told him what had happened to me. Luckily, the man is a Yoruba man from Ekiti State. He asked me to follow him to the morgue he was taking the corpses to. After depositing the corpses, he took the key of my bus from me because I was shivering, I could not drive again. So, he drove the bus through another route and got to the expressway. He asked me to follow the expressway to Abuja. It was when I got to Abuja that I treated myself and came back home the following day.
Did the attackers ask of your tribe before they carried out the attack?
No, immediately we ran into their barricade, they trooped out in large numbers and started attacking everybody at sight.
As an eyewitness, how many people do you think lost their lives to the attack?
About 25 persons were killed.
What tribes were they from?
They were all Fulani, who left Ondo State for Bauchi for the programme.
What do you think could have caused the attack?
Honestly I don’t know; what I know is that when we got to Jos, the youth attacked and killed many of our passengers.
Don’t you think the attack was an extension of the fight between the Fulani and other tribes in that area?
I can’t say, but the Fulani that we conveyed to Bauchi were innocent; they had been living in Ondo State for a long time. We knew them very well. Some of them were born and bred in the Akoko area. I don’t think they knew anything about any fight going on in Jos.
How many vehicles were burnt in your convoy?
One vehicle was burnt and the other four ran for safety, while the Fulani passengers who survived the attack also fled. No one saw another.
How many people were killed in your own vehicle?
I don’t know for now. All I can say is that they were dragging them out of the bus and beating them. They tried to drag me out but I did not stop driving. In the process, I lost N200,000 meant for my monthly instalment payment for the bus to the motor dealer. Since I came back, I have been visiting the hospital for medical attention as the trauma is too much and I have yet to get myself back properly after the incident.
What do you think should be done on this matter?
I will only appeal to the Federal Government and the government of Plateau and Ondo states to assist the families of the victims and those, whose vehicles were burnt and vandalised, in the area of compensation. Also, the government should find solutions to the security challenges facing us in this country. A situation where people are not safe in their own country should be looked into. We must be free to travel safely to any part of Nigeria. ,,
