Fulani youths shot by suspected Berom militia in Jos South in latest unprovoked attack in Pleateau

By: Zagazola Makama

Two Fulani youths were ambushed late Tuesday while returning from Gero village in Jos South Local Government Area (LGA) in the latest unprovoked attack by suspected Berom militia in Plateau state.

Zagazola Makama gathered from sources that the victims, Zakariya Abdullahi and Jibrin Musa, were attacked by suspected Berom militia around 8:00 p.m. Abdullahi was killed on the spot, while Musa sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

The latest ambush of Zakariya Abdullahi and Jibrin Musa fits this established pattern of escalating attacks, in which pastoral and farming communities are alternately targeted in a cycle of reprisals.

The recent spate of violence follows the deadly December 31, 2025, attack in Bum community, Chugwi area of Vwang District, Jos South LGA, where at least seven farmers were killed in their homes and farmlands. That attack occurred despite prior security alerts warning of potential threats to several rural communities.

Zagazola had link the Bum killings to an escalating cycle of reprisal attacks. On December 27, 2025, five Fulani youths were shot near Con Filling Station along Bukuru Express Road, sustaining critical injuries. Local sources allege that the gunmen, suspected Berom militia, targeted the youths without provocation as they returned from Bukuru Cattle Market.

The December violence traces further back to attacks on mining sites and pastoral assets. On December 16, 2025, gunmen attacked an illegal mining site at Tosho community, Barkin Ladi LGA, by Fulani Bandits, killing 12 miners and abducting three others. The assault reportedly followed cattle rustling in nearby communities, including the loss of 137 cattle in Nding community on December 12, and additional theft and poisoning of livestock across Jos East and Riyom LGAs.

The unrest has also seen civilian casualties, including the killing of four children in Dorong village, Foron District, Barkin Ladi LGA, in what residents describe as a Fulani reprisal attack. Other retaliatory attacks have reportedly targeted Gero village in Jos South LGA, resulting in the deaths and injury of both humans and livestock.

Despite multiple warnings and early alerts, affected communities have repeatedly decried slow response by the state government and selective enforcement that fails to dismantle armed militias on all sides.

The lack of decisive action against armed militias on both sides has fueled unending attacks, mistrust, making people in rural settlements increasingly vulnerable to attacks. Unresolved issues such as cattle rustling, livestock poisoning, and targeted killings act as triggers for revenge attacks, creating a self-perpetuating spiral of violence.

Fulani youths shot by suspected Berom militia in Jos South in latest unprovoked attack in Pleateau

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace, police arrest seven over Qua’an-Pan genocide, cattle rustling

By: Zagazola Makama

A combined security forces from Operation Enduring Peace have arrested seven suspects in connection with the killing of residents and rustling of cattle in Bong/Kook village, Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Zagazola Makama gathered that the suspects, all locals of Plateau state, were arrested on Jan. 4 at about 9:30 p.m. following credible intelligence.

According to the sources, the arrests were carried out at Namu while the suspects were en route to Nasarawa State by a combined team of the police, Operation Enduring Peace and local hunters.

“The suspects arrested include both the masterminds and those who directly participated in the attack and killing at Kook village,” the sources said.

The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Jan. 2, involved armed men who invaded Bong/Kook village in Doemak District, rustled some cows and shot dead residents during the attack.

The Plateau State Police Command had earlier confirmed that at least seven persons were killed and several others injured during the invasion, adding that two of the attackers were also neutralised during a pursuit by security forces.

Sources said a joint team of soldiers, police personnel, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and vigilantes pursued the attackers, who allegedly killed residents to facilitate their escape before abandoning the rustled cattle.

The security forces clarified that preliminary investigations linked the incident to criminal elements involved in cattle rustling, and not to ethnic or religious motives.

It added that the rustled cows had been recovered, while security deployment had been intensified across the area to prevent further attacks.

Security agencies said efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest other fleeing suspects and to recover weapons used during the attack.

Zagazola Makama observed that the arrest of seven suspects connected to the killings failed to attract significant attention as part selective narrative in the reporting and advocacy around violence in the state.

Zagazola has previously reported how the deadly attack attracted unusually low publicity and muted reactions because the perpetrators were locals of the state and not Fulani bandits. It failed to generate the level of outrage, media coverage and international attention often associated with similar killings in Plateau State.

“The attack did not fit into the familiar ethnic or religious framing that usually drives strong reactions. The assailants were identified as Plateau indigenes, and the victims were neither Fulani nor linked to pastoral communities,”Makama said.

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace, police arrest seven over Qua’an-Pan genocide, cattle rustling

Bandit attacks, cattle rustling expose persistent security gaps in Kano rural communities

By: Zagazola Makama

Incidents of armed banditry and cattle rustling in Shanono and Tsanyawa Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kano State in the early hours of Jan. 2 has exposed the evolving security challenges confronting rural communities on the fringes of the North-West.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that suspected armed bandits invaded Farin-Fuwa village in Shanono LGA at about 2:55 a.m., prompting a swift response by security forces deployed in the area.

The responding teams of security forces engaged the attackers in a gun duel, during which one security personnel lost his life, while the suspects fled under pressure.

Although the attackers were forced to withdraw, analysts note that the fatality point to the growing boldness of bandit groups operating close to Kano’s rural settlements, often exploiting early morning hours to launch surprise attacks.

In a separate but related incident, suspected cattle rustlers struck Yakanawa village in Tsanyawa LGA at about 1:40 a.m. the same day, carting away an unspecified number of cattle before security teams could reach the scene.

The rustlers reportedly escaped moments before the arrival of responding forces, again highlighting the speed and mobility that continue to give criminal groups an operational edge in remote areas.

The two incidents reflect a broader pattern in which bandit groups adapt their tactics, shifting between direct armed assaults and economic sabotage through cattle rustling to sustain their operations.

The proximity of Shanono and Tsanyawa LGAs to known bandit corridors linking parts of Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States, suggesting that cross-border criminal movement continues to complicate security efforts.

While security forces have intensified patrols and tactical deployments across affected areas, it was argued that lasting stability will require a combination of sustained kinetic operations, community-based intelligence and disruption of the economic lifelines that sustain bandit groups.

Zagazola warned that unless cattle rustling networks are decisively dismantled and armed groups denied safe routes and hideouts, sporadic attacks and losses may continue, posing a lingering threat to rural livelihoods and overall security in Kano State

Bandit attacks, cattle rustling expose persistent security gaps in Kano rural communities