The world was watching the high drama of the Paris Olympics. American pundits were watching Donald Trump’s Mar a Lago Presser.
But Akika Tsav, a farmer and resident of Ayati village in Central Nigeria, was watching his world fall apart.
Tsav’s peaceful town of Ayati in Benue State, Nigeria, was again heading into mourning. Ayati, a tranquil precinct in Ukum County, Benue State, has been ravaged by wave after wave of jihadist terrorist attacks in recent years. Located 121 miles northeast of Makurdi, the state capital, this once-peaceful community has been grappling with traumatic loss, its residents struggling to find security, food or even solace. The cruelty they endured last week will remind many of the horrors of the Rwandan genocide or even of the European Holocaust.
“It was around 4:30 pm when I heard the sound of motorcycles approaching our compound,” Tsav told Truthnigeria. “I was by the fireside, preparing dinner for my two kids, when suddenly I heard the staccato of automatic rifles. I knew that sound all too well, having heard it just two weeks prior.”
Tsav quickly sprang into action, gathering his two sons and hiding them in a nearby ditch. From their hiding place, he witnessed the unimaginable horror.
“I counted up to 15 gunmen shooting indiscriminately into huts and at people running for their lives. They shot point-blank at anyone they saw, ensuring those shots were killed with a bullet to the head.”
Tsav’s voice cracked as he described the slaughter of his family members. “I watched in horror as my two brothers, my cousin, and her 8-month-old baby were gunned down before my eyes. My mother, over 90 years old, died of shock. The trauma of that day will haunt me forever.”
