A call for an independent review of Operation Rainbow as allegations of attacks on Fulani communities deepen

By: Zagazola Makama

The Plateau State Government can no longer afford to treat growing allegations of bias, arson and attacks involving personnel of Operation Rainbow as ordinary complaints in a state already trapped in a cycle of communal violence.

The allegations are serious enough to demand an independent investigation because repeated allegations that a security outfit is attacking the very communities it is mandated to protect can rapidly destroy public confidence and deepen an already dangerous conflict into another layer.

Operation Rainbow was created as a state security initiative to support the protection of lives and property and has since undergone substantial expansion. In December 2025, Governor Caleb Mutfwang said the outfit was intended to protect residents regardless of faith or ethnicity and instructed its personnel to respect the law, human rights and civilian engagement. The state has also subjected its personnel to training on standard operating procedures and rules of engagement.

That makes the allegations now being raised particularly disturbing.

There have been previous accusations by some fulani residents of Mangu that Operation Rainbow personnel were involved in extrajudicial killings . The European Union Agency for Asylum documented those allegations in its review of the Plateau security situation. Operation Rainbow denied similar allegations in 2024, describing them as false and misleading.

The fact that the allegations have been denied does not make them irrelevant. Nor does the fact that they have been made make them proven.

That is precisely why there must be an independent investigation.

According to accounts from Fulani residents in some affected communities, there is now a growing perception that Operation Rainbow is not being seen as a neutral security presence.

One Fulani community leader alleged that residents came under heavy fire from personnel they initially believed had arrived to protect them. According to his account, the residents were caught off guard when the security personnel allegedly opened fire, resulting in several deaths and forcing others to flee for safety.

The allegations of arson are even more troubling

There are also allegations from Fulani residents that Operation Rainbow personnel have, in some instances, been involved in the burning of homes or property belonging to members of their communities. If established, such conduct would represent an extraordinary breach of the basic purpose of a security organisation.

A security officer who participated in burning the home of a civilian is not protecting that civilian. A security officer who attacks an unarmed community is not restoring peace.
And a security formation that is perceived to punish an entire community because of the alleged actions of individuals risks becoming another source of insecurity.

There are thousands of security personnel and community-based operatives across Plateau. Many may be performing difficult and dangerous duties in communities where attacks occur with little warning. Indeed, Operation Rainbow personnel themselves have also been attacked: a senior officer of the outfit was killed in an ambush along the Bokkos–Barkin Ladi axis on Sept. 22, according to reports.

That reality makes accountability even more important.

Security personnel deserve protection. Civilians deserve protection. Both cannot be protected by allowing allegations of abuse to remain unresolved. Plateau cannot fight an insurgency of mistrust The greatest danger is not simply what happened during any single alleged operation. It is what happens afterward.

When a Fulani community believes that the security forces have come to attack rather than protect it, residents may stop providing intelligence.

When indigenous communities believe that security forces are failing to protect them, they may turn increasingly hostile towards the security agencies. When both sides begin to see security personnel through an ethnic lens, every movement of a patrol vehicle can become a source of suspicion. That is how a security crisis becomes self-perpetuating.

The state has already witnessed how quickly violence can move from an attack to reprisal, from reprisal to counter-reprisal, and eventually to a cycle in which civilians who had nothing to do with the original incident become targets.

Recent security incidents across Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Bokkos demonstrate how fragile the situation remains. Security personnel themselves have become targets, while civilians continue to face killings, attacks and destruction of property.

Against that background, the security architecture must be above ethnic suspicion.
Government must investigate not defend

The Plateau State Government should resist the temptation to automatically defend Operation Rainbow whenever allegations emerge. The appropriate response is investigation. Where an allegation is false, establish that clearly and publicly. Where an operative acted lawfully, explain the circumstances. Where misconduct occurred, identify the personnel involved and prosecute them. Where command failure occurred, hold the responsible commanders accountable. And where evidence shows that civilians were deliberately targeted, there should be no institutional protection for the perpetrators.

This is particularly important because the state has repeatedly emphasised that Operation Rainbow is supposed to be an inclusive security structure. In December 2025, Governor Mutfwang said the outfit was designed to protect people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds and that legitimate complaints against operatives would attract disciplinary action where wrongdoing was established.

Those commitments must now be tested through transparent action.

Bring in the federal security agencies

There is also a strong case for reviewing the operational role of Operation Rainbow in the most volatile areas of Plateau.

The Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other constitutionally mandated agencies should have a decisive role in operations involving the use of lethal force, arrests and intelligence-led raids.

Operation Rainbow can continue to contribute community intelligence, early warning and local knowledge, but its operations should be subject to clear command arrangements, documented rules of engagement, civilian oversight and effective mechanisms for investigating complaints.

The recent training of Operation Rainbow personnel on standard operating procedures and rules of engagement is a positive step, but training has meaning only when compliance is monitored and violations have consequences.

Protect every community

Plateau does not need a security structure that is perceived as protecting one ethnic group against another. It needs a security structure that protects citizens against criminals.
If a Fulani herder is attacked, the perpetrator must be pursued. If a Berom, Mwaghavul, Afizere or any other citizen is attacked, the perpetrator must equally be pursued. If a farmer’s crops are destroyed, the law must address it. If cattle are stolen, the law must address it. If a community is attacked, security forces must protect it. If a member of a security formation commits a crime, the law must protect the victim by holding that operative accountable.

The uniform cannot become a shield against accountability. And ethnicity cannot become evidence of guilt. The growing allegations surrounding Operation Rainbow therefore deserve something more serious than political denials or counter-accusations. They deserve an independent, transparent and credible investigation capable of establishing what happened, who was responsible and whether operational procedures were followed.
Because in a conflict as deeply polarised as Plateau’s, perceived injustice can become fuel for the next attack.

And if the people who are supposed to protect communities are themselves increasingly perceived as a threat by some of those communities, then the government has a security problem that cannot be solved by deploying more personnel alone.

Plateau needs security that citizens can trust and that trust must be earned through impartiality, evidence, accountability and equal protection under the law.

A call for an independent review of Operation Rainbow as allegations of attacks on Fulani communities deepen