“I laid flat on the ground as they opened fire” – Survivor narrates how she pretended to be dead as gunmen kill six members of her family in Plateau State

Six members of a family were killed by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen inside their home in Dangwal village, Ganawuri district of Riyom local government of Plateau state along Jos-Kaduna-Abuja road on Monday night May 27th.

According to reports, the gunmen arrived Dangwal Village at about 8pm on Monday and headed straight to Lo-Gwong Du family house where they murdered 6 members of the family.

Speaking to newsmen in Jos, one of the family members, Lyop Gideon, a 25 year- old mother of 1 and survivor of the attack said she escaped death by pretending to be dead.

Lyop’s baby also survived  the attack as the gunmen decided to spare the baby’s life who at the time was in her grandmother’s arm. The grandmother was however killed. Lyop’s husband, Gideon Gyang, his two parents, two siblings and a cousin were all killed in the attack.

“I laid flat on the ground as they opened fire, killing everyone. My baby yelled from my dead mother in-law’s arms but she was unhurt,” Mrs. Gideon said.

According to her, the family was having dinner together when the armed men attacked.

“My husband was in our room few meters away from my father in-law’s room where seven of us were eating. They shot him first, and my terrified mother in-law started screaming. As my husband was groaning and my mother in-law screaming, they came into the room where we were. One of them tried to say something in Berom language but wasn’t so fluent. He spoke also in Fulfulde saying ‘Hurut mu hilleh’ after opening fire in the room but I don’t think that language was standard too”