Avreson David, a fifty-year-old father of Saviour, an artisan, who was brutally murdered by a Fulani herdsman, tells NATHANIEL SHUAIBU about the need to get justice for his slain son, among other related issues

What circumstance led to the killing of your son?

It happened on Sunday, April 27. I was in Lafia when I heard about the incident. I had to rush to Karu Local Government Area in New Nyanya, Nasarawa State. One of my children, Miracle, was having his bath, and he heard Saviour David, saying, ‘Fulani man just attacked me with a cutlass.’

So, when Miracle came out immediately, he found out that they (assailants) truly attacked Saviour David with a cutlass. Miracle asked Saviour, who was in pain, what the problem was, and he said one of them attacked him with a cutlass because he asked them not to eat from the mango tree we planted inside our compound.

They are Fulani people; they entered the compound, and then he (Saviour) said, ‘Don’t eat those mangoes.’ That was the only word he said before one of them struck him on his chest with a machete. That attack led to his death.

What did Miracle do after Saviour told him about his situation?

He ran out naked because he was taking his bath when Saviour raised the alarm. Miracle rushed out to ascertain what was going on. So, when he saw that his brother had truly been attacked, he ran back to put on a pair of trousers before coming out to save him.

It was in that process that the attackers started to pursue him (Miracle) to machete him again. They stoned him on his back, so that if he had fallen, they would have killed him with the same machete they used to kill his brother, but he narrowly escaped. My daughter, the second child, who was also coming back from church, was also chased by these assailants.

Two of the Fulani men followed her with the intention to kill her, but she also escaped, and before they could get to Miracle and her sister, people came around to save the situation. But Saviour was already dead before any form of help could come. The police were called to take the corpse. When I came back, we met at the police station in the evening of the same day the incident happened.

How did you feel when you came back to face the reality that your son had been killed?

My son just completed learning a trade, and we don’t have any crisis in our community, but I don’t understand what caused all these problems. I don’t have anything, but my only cry is that the government should look into this matter so that our minds will be at rest in this community. This is the first time this (attack) would be happening; we have been here for a very long time, and nothing like this has ever happened. I think I have been in this community for over 15 years now.

But there are claims that a similar attack happened last year. How true is that?

It was only last year around February 2024 when one of the vigilantes saw a Fulani man eating somebody’s crops on the farm, and the vigilante said, ‘Why are you eating somebody’s crops? The vigilante said the man responded, ‘Are these your crops?’ The man attacked the vigilante with a cutlass, and the vigilante got his gun and fired him on his leg, to save himself.

But the government asked the vigilante to pay. They paid N300,000 to the Fulani man because the vigilante man did not run to the police station. This was because he wanted to go to the hospital (for treatment after he was attacked by the Fulani man). They said he did not do the right thing. That is why we are always scared.

We don’t have anything to say with Fulani in Nigeria, because the government is supporting them, and concerning this issue, even if the boy has not been caught, only the father has been caught, and brought to the station, nothing has been done. So, what is there to say?

My son was a young man, who spent some years acquiring skills. He graduated in February and had begun to use the skill to improve his life, but these Fulani men just murdered him because of a mango tree.

What have the police done so far about the matter?

Yes, they came and picked up the corpse at the station, and then they tried to put the corpse in the mortuary. But when we went to the medical centre, they said there was no space. From there, we went to one of the other hospitals, but they said there was no space. So, I asked them to give me my son’s corpse, so that I could take him to Lafia and put him in a mortuary in Lafia.

They agreed, but I don’t know what happened before they now called that we should go back to a medical centre. That was why we went to a medical centre. I appreciate the police; they have done their job.

We called them and they ran fast to look into the matter. After the incident, on Monday, the Fulani came to attack the community again, and I had to run to the local government chairman and the chief of Karu to explain my feelings.

How would you describe your late son?

He was very nice to the community, and he was very friendly to everybody in the community. It is very painful to everybody and the community that my son has been killed. People still mourn him because he was very jovial to everybody in the community.

You can call anybody in this community and ask about Saviour, and they will tell you the same thing. Anybody who knew him and heard of his death shed tears; some took ill and went to the hospital. He was a young man who liked going on errands for members of the community. While he was alive, if you asked him to do anything for you, he would not say no.

How old was your late son?

He was 23 years old.

Has anybody from the government reached out to you and your family, maybe from the local government or the Nasarawa State Government?

Since the day I went to the local government, we went to the chief’s palace, and the chief asked the chairman to come and see what happened in the compound; although he came to the community, he did not enter my compound. But the policemen have been coming.

We went to state CID in Lafia, with a few Fulani men, the boy’s father, and their brother. They said they were coming to see where the incident happened. However, till now, we are still waiting for them.

If what happened to my son had happened to the child of a Fulani man, nobody would have crossed this area, and the government would know that nobody would have crossed this area.

If you had a chance to speak directly to the man who killed your son, what would you tell him?

If we were the ones who attacked Fulani now, I think we would not be staying in this place because even that day, the Jankanwa Divisional Police Officer was saying that people were burning a house belonging to a Fulani man.

He also said, ‘If we (the police) leave you (community members) with Fulani, can you fight Fulani? So, that means even the government knows that the Fulani are above the government. For the DPO to utter that kind of word, he knew what he was talking about. I think even the government is aware that nobody can fight Fulani people. I don’t have anything to say to the Fulani people even if I see them, because I know they are above the government.

Since you lost your son on that fateful Sunday, what has life been like to you, your family, and your community?

Even now, as I am talking to you, my wife is seriously unwell. Every single day, she cries because of her son. As I’m talking to you, if we don’t take time, she may need to be taken to the hospital. I don’t know if I still have bones or veins in my body, because he was the only son, and I could wake up any time and tell him to do this for me, and he would run and do it.

If I say let’s go to the farm, he will go to the farm. Even the community, because of the goodness of my son, after they killed him, a portion of a house belonging to a Fulani man was burnt. But to my surprise, the government said that the people who burnt the house should pay for the destroyed property.

If I may ask the government now, will the payment for the house burnt bring back my son? That’s what I would like to ask because something is linked to the burning of the house. If they didn’t kill my son, I know the youth would not burn the house, and that is a crime.

Are you still with your family in that community, or have you relocated?

I can’t relocate because it is my house. Where am I relocating to? Even if I were to relocate, if I don’t get justice, let them give me my son to go and bury. That is why I went to State CID to explain to them. They say it is not a chicken, and that they would get to the root of everything.

What would the government do that would make you believe that you have got justice?

Let them do the right thing; let them bring the man who killed my son to the court, and the court should serve justice by itself, and give the penalty due to someone who killed somebody with a cutlass. What is the penalty in Nigeria? If they say it is to hang him or to set him free and allow him to continue to live, that is no problem. Whatever the government says is okay.

Do you believe that the man who killed your son will ever be caught, or will ever be punished?

I don’t know, because when we were at the State CID, the culprit’s father said the DPO asked him where his son was. He said he had not seen his son. The CP asked the father of the culprit what he wanted, and he said he wanted to take the penalty for his son.

What did the police commissioner say to that?

The CP said no because the young man (culprit) needed to come and face the penalty. The CP said he would keep the man in police custody until the son was available. The man is currently in the police station in Lafia.

Some people believe Fulani attacks on communities are being treated as normal cases and not taken seriously. What are your thoughts on that?

Yes, I think that is correct. Let me tell you something: the day the Fulani came to attack, the police were supposed to arrest them. If it were other citizens, they would have arrested them. But after all these, the chairman of the local government said everyone should stay in peace, while the culprit had not been arrested. I think they see the incident as normal.

In your opinion, do you really think the government is supporting the Fulani?

Yes, I think it is about 100 per cent. Look at what is happening now; how can Fulani men come to my compound? They have the confidence to still bring cows into my compound after killing my son. Is there no grass anywhere except my house? It shows something is wrong somewhere.

You said your son completed learning a trade in February this year. What was he learning, and how many years did he learn the skill?

He learnt to weld, and he even got the first contract from one of the men in our community, to weld his windows, burglary, and doors.

Was he married?

No, he wasn’t married.

How old are you, and how many children do you have?

I am 50 years old, and I have eight children. I am a land agent, and my wife is a trader.

According to you, the people who went to burn the Fulani man’s house were told to pay for the destroyed property without anything said about your slain son. Can you speak more on this?

When we went to the State CID, they told a young man whom they arrested to pay for what was destroyed in the house that was set ablaze. The young man was not among those who burnt the house, but they said he would pay for what was lost inside the house, like corn, cattle, rams, beds, and other things.

But I was only concerned about how they would pay for my son’s death. But the government has not said anything about that. The man who killed my son has not been apprehended. He is still walking free. They only said the Fulani man whose house was set ablaze should go and check all that was burnt and tell them.