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Plateau survivors recounts lynching as reprisals as reprisals fuel fresh killings

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Plateau survivors recounts lynching as reprisals as reprisals fuel fresh killings

By: Zagazola Makama

A survivor of the recent roadside killings in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau has narrated how five commuters from Jos North were killed after their vehicle was intercepted by suspected youths along the Nding axis.

The incident occurred hours after seven persons were reportedly killed in Ratatis community, Dorowa Babuje, by suspected armed Fulani bandits.

Sources confirmed that a passenger Opel Vectra conveying civilians was stopped at a road blockade mounted by suspected Berom youths. Four passengers were reportedly killed on the spot, while a fifth later died from injuries.
All the victims were identified as Hausa residents of Gangare in Jos North. They were said to be traders travelling to Pankshin for their businesses.

Abdulalim Ibrahim, one of the survivors, said the attackers demanded to know their identities before opening fire.

“We were heading to the market in Pankshin when we were stopped by the protesters and asked who we were. The driver tried to calm them and told them we were all one. But the protesters rejected. Suddenly, there was gunfire. One person sitting at the back seat was shot inside the car while four others were dragged out by the youths,” he said.

They dragged others out of the vehicle and began shooting at them. I immediately told the driver to drive off with speed and leave the scene. When we arrived in Mangu, we contacted our parents and family friends. We were advised to go to the nearest security outfit, where soldiers were attached to provide security for us.

When we later saw the victims, they had been brutally killed. Some were burnt, while others were mutilated. They were later evacuated to Barkin Ladi, where prayers were offered for them.

Muazu Saidu, Co-survivor, said Everything he said is true. We were all in that vehicle. The victims were innocent businessmen. One of them, Baba Karami Zakari, had just welcomed a newborn child. All of them have families.”

He stated that the victims included Uwaisu, Jubril, Zakari, Shamsu and Zubairu. They were businessmen. One of them, Baba Karami Zakari, just had a newborn child. They all had families,” he said.

Religious leaders have also appealed for calm. The Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, called on youths and community members to exercise restraint and avoid escalating tensions. Rev Dachomo also avoid speaking about the killing of the five traders whose only crimes was being caught in retaliatory or identity-driven violence.

The Commissioner of Police (COMPOL), Plateau State Police Command, visited key black spots across Jos North and held consultations with stakeholders, including the palace of Ujah Anaguta, Chairman of the Jos North Traditional Rulers Council. The police assured the royal father of their commitment to maintaining law and order and urged him to ensure stability within his domain. The COMPOL also engaged leadership of the Jos Central Mosque, the Executive Chairman of Jos North LGA, and other community leaders to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

Gov. Caleb Mutfwang strongly condemned the Dorowa Babuje killings, through the Commissioner for Information, Mrs Joyce Ramnap, describing them as “barbaric and senseless,” and directed security agencies to intensify operations to crack down on attackers.

However, his official statement did not specifically acknowledge the five commuters killed in the reprisal. Both incidents involved civilians. Both involved families. Yet public response has not appeared equally forceful.

When governments appear to condemn one set of killings more loudly than another, it reinforces the narrative that some lives matter more than others. In a state already fractured along ethnic and land-based fault lines, perception quickly becomes fuel. In Plateau, violence no longer erupts in isolation. It unfolds in patterns, attack, retaliation, silence, and then another burial.

Plateau’s crisis is no longer a simple farmer-herder conflict. It has mutated into two parallel but interconnected threats: Armed Fulani bandits who raid rural communities, burn homes and kill farmers to Local Militia-style who attack civilians based on identity and carry out targeted killing under the guise of community protection. Both are unlawful. Both are criminal. Both are banditry and both thrive in the absence of swift and visible justice.

The latest killings mirror previous incidents in Plateau where civilians were attacked following broader communal violence. Yet years of the same pattern of recurring violence, from Rukuba Road in 2021 to Mangu in 2025 and now Barkin Ladi in 2026, have produced more funerals than convictions. Victims and families continue to ask a simple question: who has been punished?

On Plateau roads, language, name, or perceived ethnic affiliation can determine survival. Innocent traders travelling to markets, students heading to weddings, worshippers returning from religious events, all become symbolic targets in a war they did not start.

When perpetrators are not publicly prosecuted, deterrence collapses. When local militia continue to carry out targeted killings without consequence, impunity becomes normalised. When reprisals are not unequivocally condemned, they are quietly rationalised. This is how identity becomes a death sentence.

Government inaction or even the perception of partiality does not calm such a situation. It complicates it. It hardens narratives. It emboldens extremists on all sides. Peace cannot be selective. Justice cannot be ethnic. Condemnation cannot be conditional.

If Plateau is to escape this recurring nightmare, the state must confront both armed bandits in the forests and militia from within its communities with equal firmness. Anything less will only deepen the crisis.

Plateau survivors recounts lynching as reprisals as reprisals fuel fresh killings

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Primaries: Aspirants protest imposition of Reps candidates in Adamawa

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Primaries: Aspirants protest imposition of Reps candidates in Adamawa

The Forum of House of Representatives Aspirants of Numan /Demsa/Lamurde Federal Constituency under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa has protested what it described as imposition of candidates in the just concluded primary elections in the state.

Speaking during the peaceful protest in Numan Local Government Area, Adamawa, Vrati Nzonzo, the spokesperson of the Forum said, the committee responsible for the conduct of the exercise and the party officials failed to abide by the rules of the game.

Nzonzo said the rules for electing candidates were through consensus or direct primaries but stressed that none of the rules were observed.

According to him, with what happened, their mandate was stolen and given to someone who did not deserve the candidacy.

“The election was supposed to be Consensus or Direct primaries but we opposed the consensus and there were no direct primaries across the Constituency”, he said.

PNzonzo called on the National Chairman APC and Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to ensure justice and fairness for the victory of the party else they threatened that they won’t vote for the party at the general elections.

Justina Nkon another aspirant also condemned the conduct of the primary election across the constituency.

According to her, the electorate were at the venue of the primaries from 8:00a.m and no officials showed up until 2:00 p.m and later on they said they had conducted the election without seeing any election materials.

She urged Fintiri to live up to the promise he made at the time of his campaign that he would not betray the people in the state.

“It’s now under your watch as the leader of the party we are witnessing the undemocratic process of primary elections by enforcing candidates who have not been elected by the people in the Constituency”, she said.

According to her, the so-called primary elections are unconstitutional, hence the need to conduct a free, fair and credible primary elections.

Usoko ken-Supule, another aspirant, demanded justice and fairness for every aspirant and for the progress of the party in the constituency, state and the country at large.
“We want justice for the progress of the party and without fairness there is no progress, therefore we are respectful party loyalists.

“We are not happy in view of what happened and we are disappointed; we are calling on the party leadership and the state governor to consider the plight of the masses”, he said.

Primaries: Aspirants protest imposition of Reps candidates in Adamawa

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Zulum Assures Immediate Relief Items, Dignified Resettlement of Displaced Persons in Monguno

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Zulum Assures Immediate Relief Items, Dignified Resettlement of Displaced Persons in Monguno

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has assured displaced communities affected by insecurity that the government is working closely with the Nigerian military hierarchy to provide immediate humanitarian and long-term support.

Governor Zulum gave the assurance when he visited displaced persons in Monguno town on Sunday, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to ensuring dignified resettlement back to their ancestral communities.

While at the IDP camp, the governor interacted directly with displaced families as women, children and elderly residents gathered around him while he listened to their concerns.

“We have examined the situation critically alongside the hierarchy of the Nigerian military, and it has been concluded that we shall provide immediate humanitarian support to these displaced communities, especially in the areas of water, shelter, and sanitation,” Zulum stated.

“Apart from this, we shall also ensure that medium and longer-term sustainable solutions are being adopted, which is acceptable to this community and their ancestral home,” he said.

“We will improve the living conditions of the displaced persons; we will not allow our citizens to endure such hardship without urgent government intervention.”

He also urged residents to cooperate with security agencies by reporting suspicious movements and activities within their communities, noting that sustaining peace and security requires collective responsibility.

“Security is everybody’s business. Communities must continue to support security agencies with timely and useful information,” the governor stated.

Governor Zulum disclosed that there are over 50,000 returnees in Marte, stressing that plans were underway to facilitate the return of more displaced persons to the town as part of the medium and longer-term solution.

He immediately directed the Secretary to the State Government, the Commissioner for Local Government, the Commissioner for Internal Security, and the Chairman of Marte Local Government Area to work out the modalities for implementing the recommendations adopted.

The governor sympathized with the people affected by the recent insecurity and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting them.

As part of the visit, Governor Zulum also met with health workers at the Monguno Eye Hospital, commending them for continuing to provide medical services despite difficult working conditions and limited resources. He announced financial support to improve their welfare and encourage greater commitment to healthcare delivery in the area.

The governor also visited the Commanding Officer of Forward Operation Base (FOB) Mairari for a security brief.

Governor Zulum was accompanied by the Senator representing Borno North, Senator Mohanmed Tahir Monguno; Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, Member Representing Marte, Monguno, Nganzai, Hon. Bukar Talba, Secretary to the state government, Bukar Tijani, Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Hon. Sugun Mai Mele, alongside other government officials.

Zulum Assures Immediate Relief Items, Dignified Resettlement of Displaced Persons in Monguno

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Troops Discover Illegal Refinery Site in Rivers Forest

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Troops Discover Illegal Refinery Site in Rivers Forest

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of 103 Battalion operating under the Joint Task Force South-South Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) have discovered an illegal refining site in the Orashi National Forest in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Military sources said the operation was conducted between 10:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on May 15, 2026, as part of ongoing anti-illegal bunkering operations in the Niger Delta region.

According to the sources, troops uncovered an illegal refining site containing one large drum oven, one reservoir, one large coolant, two receivers, two waste pits, and two galvanised pipes measuring about 50 metres each.

The site was suspected to have been used for the illegal processing of stolen crude oil and petroleum products.

The sources said the discovered items were handled in accordance with operational directives of Operation Delta Safe.

Security authorities reiterated their commitment to sustaining operations against crude oil theft, illegal refining activities and economic sabotage across the Niger Delta region.

Troops Discover Illegal Refinery Site in Rivers Forest

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