I tried to pick my hand cut off by herdsmen — Benue female farmer

A female farmer identified as Wuaherna Chekum who was attacked at Gboogyo village in the Guma Local Government Area, which is a border community between Benue and Nasarawa states said she attempted to pick her hand up after it was cut off by herdsmen. 

Speaking with John Charles through an interpreter at the Festival Medical Centre, Apir, Makurdi, Benue State, on how she was ambushed by suspected fulani herdsmen who chopped off her hand on her farm Chekum said:

"I left Udei to the interior village of Gboogyo on Friday last week, to inspect my melons and beniseed. At the time I got to the farm, nothing suggested that herdsmen were lurking around. So, I went round the melon farm, I went further to inspect the beniseed farm. 

"It was when I got to the beniseed farm that I discovered that cows had strayed into the farm. I saw their footprints and other traces that they had destroyed the beniseed.

When asked what she did afterwards she said, "I finished going round the farm and I decided to excrete when I heard the mooing of some cows. Before I could adjust myself to go back to the farm, suddenly I noticed some movements behind me as if someone was trying to grab me.   Immediately I turned to see who could be the person, the man gave me a deep cut on my forehead. I started bleeding severely and I lost control of myself and fell down.

"When I regained consciousness, it seemed to me that my assailant was still up in front of me. Therefore, I tried to grab the person. But after I thought I had seized the person, I discovered that what I grabbed was the part of my hand that had been cut off. I could not get the cutlass but I held half of my hand.

"It was when I held unto the part of my hand that was cut off that it occurred to me that I should shout for help. By then I had started running and screaming for help. All this while, blood was gushing out of the hand and I was in serious pain. However, I was trying to use the last strength in me to escape from the scene. I held tightly to the part of my hand that was cut off and I was running and screaming along the bush path but I discovered that the hand fell off from the one I used to hold it.

"But it got to a point where I could no longer run. So, I fell down and I started calling people around for help, begging them to also assist me to search for the hand that had fallen off. Some persons came to find out who was crying.  I was down and crying but I could not hear the mooing of the cows again.

I heard the cows mooing everywhere in the farm but after the attack, I didn’t hear them again. When this happened, I lost my voice and couldn’t shout again.

"My husband went out to look for money for my treatment. But the problem is that he has no other job except farming, and since, 2018 we have been denied access to our farms. We used to sneak to the farm and do a little work before running back for fear of the herdsmen. Now just common instrument the hospital said it will use to check my temperature (thermometer). They asked me to pay N250.00.  I couldn’t afford it. The people here in the ward can bear me witnesses, I plead that  government should assist me in the treatment.

(The Punch)