The commercial motorcycle rider has come forward to affirm that he is, indeed, alive.
Caleb Ebenezer, a commercial motorcycle rider previously pronounced dead in the Mangu crisis, has debunked the claims.
He has come forward to affirm that he is, indeed, alive.
Ebenezer, who spoke with The Nation in Jos, said: “I’m personally debunking the statement of the military who told the whole world that I was killed in one of the attacks in Sabon Gari, Mangu.
“Indeed, I was attacked by some Fulani youths, but I escaped their trap by the grace of God. I was surrounded by Fulani herders but only God knows how I escaped.”
Recalling the events that culminated in the attack, Ebenezer said: “I was riding okada (motorcycle) from Mangu back to my village in Sabongari. Some Fulani people were passing with their cows.
“They stopped me on the way so that their cattle could pass, and I stopped.
“Unfortunately, when they had passed, the young man told me to move.
“As I was moving on, a small Fulani herder boy told me that we had been disturbing them and did not want them to drink water.
“He said they would start by killing us on the federal road so that people would know that they were not joking.
“So I asked him, are you going to kill me? He said yes. One of them removed a machete and the other one removed a knife.
“I asked again, so you want to kill me? They said yes. They said they must kill me before anything would happen.
“Unfortunately, one of my colleagues, who was driving by, saw me and the children standing with their weapons to kill me.
“He took a stone and threw it at them. Unfortunately, when I was returning to leave with my motorcycle, they hit me with a stick. They also broke the front of my bike.
“Before I knew it, people from various places and my community had gathered to chase them away.
“The only thing the military people did was to escort the cattle and the Fulani boys to their base. They did not ask me anything.”
Meanwhile, the President of Mwaghavul Youth Movement Worldwide Mr. Dawap Sunday Dankaka, has said the attack by armed Fulani men on January 22 resulted in 91 deaths.
Dankaka stated this on Tuesday while giving account of the unfortunate development in Mangu LGA during the International World Press Conference on Incessant Killings in Plateau State by Equity International Initiative (EII) in collaboration with CYPA Africa held at Crispan Hotel in Jos the Plateau State capital.
He said: “The incident, which started with Ebenezer, an okada rider, on that fateful day was not handled properly by the military and has led to the death of about 91 persons with about 128 persons injured and currently scattered across eight hospitals, receiving treatments.
“We have recorded 91 deaths and we’re still counting. We have about 42 women, 37 children and 12 men that we’ve lost so far.
“And in terms of those that were injured, we have about 128. They are scattered across about eight hospitals.
“We are still collecting records of the unfortunate happening. You know, the losses we’ve had so far; about 91 deaths. We’re still counting.”
