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Boko Haram: Truth Alliance takes counter-narrative drama to North East communities*

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Boko Haram: Truth Alliance takes counter-narrative drama to North East communities*
•Drama aims to expose recruitment tactics of terrorist groups

By: Michael Mike

In a continued effort to counter extremist ideologies, The Truth Alliance has launched a community drama series under its “Time to Tell the Truth” campaign, aimed at exposing the recruitment tactics used by terrorist groups in Borno State.

This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the group’s Spokesperson, Mr. Ahmed Mustapha. The event, which took place from June 24th to 25th, was staged across various communities, including Baga Road, Bolori, Bulumkutu, Gamboru, Hausari, and Showkari in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

Drama has long served as a powerful medium to convey the truths about life and its challenges. This particular drama was staged in accessible, community-based locations such as marketplaces, view centers, and other strategic places within Maiduguri, ensuring maximum reach and impact.

The play, based on a true-life story, narrated the harrowing experience of a woman who was deceived into joining Boko Haram due to dire economic needs. The narrative, told through a friend’s perspective, highlighted the woman’s predicament: choosing between leaving Boko Haram and facing poverty and stigma, or returning to the chaos within the sect.

According to the play, the woman had been deeply involved in Boko Haram before realising the group’s deceit. Her story is one of grief, survival, hopelessness, and ultimately, a new beginning as she managed to escape. The drama underscored that terrorist organisations manipulate and exploit individuals, hiding the truth and valuing human lives insignificantly.

The community response to the drama was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees expressed that the play enlightened them in both a playful and powerful way.

Kabiru Muhammad, a community stakeholder in Bolori, stressed the need for collaborative efforts to expose these recruitment strategies to prevent future occurrences. “This is a call to all of us to understand the deceiving strategy extremist groups use to recruit people to their ranks. I also call on all to use this story as an example and encourage the stakeholders to promote peace,” he said.

Ali Habib, a young resident from Showkari, urged his peers to be cautious when choosing friends, noting that bad influences can easily lead one astray, especially in the absence of employment opportunities. “Choosing a friend determines what future you want to have for yourself because when you choose someone that is into something bad, he or she would introduce you to it, especially when you are jobless,” he stated.

A woman from the Hausari community, who preferred to remain anonymous, highlighted the importance of parental responsibility and community support. She blamed both parental negligence and the lack of community assistance for those in need.

The drama was performed in both Hausa and Kanuri languages, ensuring it was accessible to a wide audience within the region.

Mustapha in the statement also assured that The Truth Alliance remains committed to implementing localized initiatives that benefit the community through active engagement and education in combating extremist ideologies and fostering a culture of peace.

He stated: “The Truth Alliance is committed to unmasking the truth behind violent and extremist groups and empowering communities to resist tyranny and violence. Through education, outreach, and collaboration, the Truth Alliance strives to build a safer, more resilient society for all.

“In a campaign tagged ‘Time to Tell the Truth’, the Truth Alliance has come together to expose the truth behind how violent extremist groups draw young people into their ranks. Their message is simple: These groups manipulate, they deceive, they Control, they kill, they kidnap, they destroy, and their movement as well as ideology is inherently weak.”

Boko Haram: Truth Alliance takes counter-narrative drama to North East communities*

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Troops, NDLEA Raid Drug Hideout in Katsina, Arrest Suspected Supplier to Terrorists

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Troops, NDLEA Raid Drug Hideout in Katsina, Arrest Suspected Supplier to Terrorists

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Malumfashi at Kafur, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, have raided a suspected drug peddlers’ hideout in Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Security sources said the operation was conducted at about 12:30 p.m. on May 12, 2026, at Huguma village following intelligence on illicit drug activities within the area.

During the raid, troops apprehended one suspect identified as a major supplier of illicit drugs and other substances to terrorists and criminal elements operating within Kafur Local Government Area and surrounding communities.

Items recovered during the operation included 146 grams of suspected cannabis and 16.5 grams of a substance identified as Exol-5.

The suspect and the recovered drugs have since been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation and necessary legal action.

Troops, NDLEA Raid Drug Hideout in Katsina, Arrest Suspected Supplier to Terrorists

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Troops Recover 13 Sheep in Mangu, as Attacked Herdsman go Missing

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Troops Recover 13 Sheep in Mangu, as Attacked Herdsman go Missing

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Sector 8, Operation Safe Haven (OPEP), have recovered 13 sheep in Sabon Gari village in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State following a suspected attack on a herder who was either killed or just vanished.

Sources said that the troops responded to the incident at about 6:30 p.m. on May 12, 2026, after receiving information that strayed livestock were discovered in the community without the owner.

On arrival at the scene, the troops reportedly found 13 sheep grazing without any herder in sight. The animals were subsequently taken into custody by the troops for further action and documentation.

Security sources said the absence of the herder raised concerns about his possible safety and whereabouts. Sources maintained that the disappearance of the harder raised suspicions that he may have been eliminated by assailants in the community.

Preliminary assessment of the situation has prompted security considerations within the area, as incidents involving farmer–herder misunderstandings and livestock encroachment have continued to be recorded in parts of Plateau State.

Authorities are expected to carry out further inquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and to determine the appropriate disposition of the recovered livestock.

Troops Recover 13 Sheep in Mangu, as Attacked Herdsman go Missing

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“It Is Obvious the Video Is Fake” Gov. Mutfwang Dismisses Viral Plateau Burial Attack Video as Fake, Warns Against Rumour-Mongering

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“It Is Obvious the Video Is Fake” Gov. Mutfwang Dismisses Viral Plateau Burial Attack Video as Fake, Warns Against Rumour-Mongering

By Zagazola Makama

Governor Caleb Mutfwang has dismissed the viral video circulated by Plateau- based activist Masara Kim Usman alleging a “jihadist attack” during a burial ceremony in Barkin Ladi, describing the footage as fake and deliberately designed to cause panic.

The governor made the remarks during a recent Security Council meeting while addressing the growing security issues and the spread of unverified security reports and sensational narratives on social media concerning the security situation in Plateau State.

“It is obvious that the video is fake,” Mutfwang said while reacting to the controversial footage that had been widely circulated online and featured in international interviews.

The video had claimed that armed Fulani attackers stormed a burial ground during funeral rites, allegedly opening fire on mourners from surrounding hills with sophisticated weapons.

However, The Nigerian Police Force who provided security at the scene of the burial and other relevant security agencies in the state found no confirmed casualty, injury or medical record linked to the alleged attack.

The governor’s comments came barely two days after he cautioned social media activists, media, bloggers and online champions against spreading rumours and unverified reports capable of inflaming tensions and damaging the image of the state.

“We are not saying that every incident should be swept under the carpet. We keep accurate data of all accounts of incidents,” the governor said.

“We are not saying that there is no attacks but many of you that are in the hurry to put it on social media, you are destroying the state.”

He warned that the reckless dissemination of rumours and unverified information could endanger lives and worsen the fragile security atmosphere in affected communities.

“And sometimes you put on social media what you heard as a rumour. You dont know the lives you put in danger sometimes with what you put on social media. We need to be careful,” he added.

Mutfwang further alleged that there were deliberate efforts by certain actors to portray Plateau negatively before the international community through exaggerated and misleading narratives.

“There is a deliberate plan to demarket Plateau State and to tell the world that Plateau state is not anywhere that anyone should visit,” the governor said.

“But let me reassure Nigerians and the world that Plateau State remain the home of peace and tourism nobody will take that from us.”said the Governor.

According to the activist’s dramatic narration, heavily armed “Fulani jihadists” surrounded a burial ground, opened fire from nearby hills with sophisticated rifles and sniper weapons, and forced terrified mourners to flee while abandoning corpses in shallow graves.

The scene was presented to international audiences as evidence of an ongoing Islamic terrorist extermination campaign against Christians in Plateau State and Nigeria.

Yet after all the cinematic shouting, breathless commentary and social media outrage, one stubborn problem refused to disappear:
Nobody died, nobody was injured, no hospital treated victims, no corpse emerged from the supposed attack, no security report confirmed casualties, no family identified anybody allegedly shot during the incident. Which raises a very uncomfortable question for the propagandists:

What exactly were the “snipers” shooting at?
Because for an alleged coordinated jihadist ambush involving sophisticated weapons against a crowded funeral gathering, the complete absence of casualties is not merely suspicious, it is devastating to the credibility of the entire narrative.

Even more remarkable was the extraordinary professionalism displayed by the supposed victim while “escaping.” Apparently, modern sniper attacks now allow enough time for stable camera angles, American accents and commentary while maintaining uninterrupted narration and carefully managed video framing.

At different points, the narrator claimed he ran two kilometres. Later, it became five kilometres. He was we was in the middle of God knows where when houses were clearly seeing behind him.

Yet somehow throughout the entire footage, there was no exhaustion, no panic, no disorientation, no visible trauma and not even the shaky breathing expected from somebody allegedly escaping death under sustained gunfire. He even took his time to mount his microphone to avoid background noises.

One almost expected background music and movie credits to appear. But perhaps the most embarrassing part of the production was hidden in plain sight inside the video itself.

While viewers were being told that heavily armed jihadists were actively attacking mourners, some women in the background were calmly walking around without panic. Others appeared unconcerned while some youths suddenly being prompted to run during portions of the recording.

Ironically, the only visible armed individuals in sections of the footage were local armed Berom youths. That small detail completely shattered the carefully packaged “helpless civilians under jihadist siege” narrative being exported to foreign audiences.

Governor Mutfwang’s intervention therefore matters because it represents something increasingly rare in today’s toxic information environment: An admission that propaganda itself has become part of Plateau’s security problem.

The Plateau crisis is already painful enough without staged documentaries pretending to be genocide evidence.

If peace is ever to return fully to Plateau, it will require honesty from all sides not scripted panic, selective outrage and propaganda disguised as activism.

Because eventually, reality catches up. And when even the governor says, “It is obvious that the video is fake,” the performance begins to collapse under its own weight.

“It Is Obvious the Video Is Fake” Gov. Mutfwang Dismisses Viral Plateau Burial Attack Video as Fake, Warns Against Rumour-Mongering

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