“How I escaped death” – Lone survivor of gunmen attack on Plateau bus narrates experience

The only survivor of the attack by gunmen on a passenger bus at Dungus Junction, Kuru, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, where 13 travellers were killed, has narrated how he managed to escape being killed in the carnage.

Nasiru Garba, who was the conductor in the ill-fated commercial vehicle, told newsmen that he hid in the vehicle and pretended to be dead along with the other passengers, and when the attackers checked to make sure all their victims were truly dead, they left thinking he was also gone.

Garba said the vehicle, which was on its way to Jos from Riyom, had stopped at the Dungus Junction to drop off some passengers when the gunmen suddenly appeared from the bushes and opened fire on the vehicle, killing all the passengers, including the driver.

“We parked by the roadside and dropped off five passengers,” Garba said.

“After they alighted, the driver got down to collect the transport fare. I was in front of the bus waiting for the driver. Immediately, the driver opened the door to enter; the gunmen opened fire on the passengers who had alighted and those inside the bus.

“All the passengers who had already alighted, the remaining passengers on the bus, and the driver died. Immediately I heard the gunshots, I bent down in the vehicle and pretended to have been hit also. The attackers approached the bus and opened the front door.”

He stated that when the attackers checked the vehicle, they thought he was also killed. He said the assailants searched all the dead passengers, collected money, phones and other valuables before retreating into the bushes.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth-Moulders Association, BYM, Rwang Tengwong, who also spoke on the incident, said the attack happened about 9.40p.m.

“The victims were all passengers travelling to Jos when the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle. Among those killed was a member of Operation Rainbow.  It is a very sad development, and we lament the loss of life. The attackers opened fire on them, and some of the victims were killed.

“The commercial bus was later found stained with blood and riddled with bullets,” he said.