Blood without outrage: inside Qua’an-Pan attack and the silence that shields local perpetrators

By: Zagazola Makama

The killing of at least seven persons in Bong village, Doemak District of Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area of Plateau has again exposed a troubling pattern in the narrative and response to violence in the state: when attacks are not linked to Fulani bandits or framed along ethnic or religious lines, they often slide quietly into obscurity.

At least seven persons were killed and several others injured when gunmen stormed the community on Friday night, while two of the attackers were also reported killed during a pursuit by security forces. Their identities were immediately revealed as plateau local indigenes.

The Plateau State Police Command later confirmed that the incident was linked to a cattle-rustling operation by criminal elements who invaded Bong/Kook village in the early hours of Jan. 2.

According to sources, a joint team of Army troops, police, NSCDC and vigilantes pursued the attackers, who shot and killed seven community members to facilitate their escape before abandoning the rustled cattle.

Crucially, security forces and community accounts indicate that the livestock involved did not belong to Fulani pastoralists, nor were the victims members of Fulani communities.

When the attackers are “from within”, unlike many previous attacks in Plateau that are quickly framed along ethnic or religious fault lines, preliminary accounts indicated that this incident was not carried out by Fulani bandits instead the Genocide was perpetrated by Christians attacking fellow Christians.

This fact, was at the heart of the wider silence surrounding the tragedy. But beyond the tragic loss of lives, the incident raises uncomfortable questions that Plateau State government, opinion leaders and advocacy groups, religious leaders have often avoided. This single fact fundamentally alters the usual narrative, yet it is precisely why the attack risks being quietly buried under the familiar label of “unknown gunmen.”

In the Plateau’s long-running cycle of violence, attacks attributed to Fulani bandits or framed as religiously motivated often trigger swift outrage, high-profile condemnations and emotionally charged narratives. By contrast, incidents such as the Qua’an-Pan killings are routinely reduced to brief police reports describing the assailants simply as “gunmen,” with little sustained attention or follow-up.

Seven lives lost in Bong village are no less valuable than lives lost anywhere else in Plateau. Yet history suggests that this tragedy may not attract mass protests, loud press conferences or emotionally charged rhetoric branding it as “genocide.” There are unlikely to be widely publicised, politicized, internationalized through symbolic mass burials or sustained media campaigns because the victims do not fit into an established narrative of persecution or Christian Genocide.

The killings, therefore, risk becoming just another statistic acknowledged briefly and then forgotten.This selective outrage is dangerous. It sends a signal that some victims deserve global attention while others do not, depending on who is accused of committing the crime.

The police said security operatives pursued the attackers, recovered the rustled cows and intensified deployment in the area. While this response is commendable, Plateau residents have heard similar assurances countless times. When it was the Fulani’s that were attacked, the security agencies will say they recovered rustled livestock and they are intensifying efforts to locate the owner, when in the real sense the owner has been killed. What remains largely absent is accountability.

Too often, attackers vanish into the shadows, investigations drag on, and arrests are never announced. Even when arrest happened, the government and community leaders always come in the defense of the criminals and asked for the immediate release. In most cases, communities are left with grief, fear and a growing sense that justice depends not on the crime committed, but on the identity of those involved.

Reducing every Plateau killing to a single ethnic or religious explanation does not protect communities; it weakens them. It masks criminality, shields perpetrators who operate within communities, and undermines genuine peacebuilding efforts.

Violence in Plateau is complex. Criminal gangs, communal disputes, reprisal or revenge attacks and economic crimes such as cattle rustling all intersect. Ignoring this complexity in favour of emotionally convenient narratives only ensures that killings continue unchecked.

The Bong village attack demands the same level of seriousness, investigation and condemnation as any other mass killing in Plateau State. Lives were lost. Families were shattered. Fear has been reignited. Justice should not depend on whether the attackers are labelled Fulani, Muslim or “unknown gunmen.” Every criminal act must be pursued with equal determination, and every victim must matter.

Blood without outrage: inside Qua’an-Pan attack and the silence that shields local perpetrators

District head commends Buni over road construction from Fadawa to Daya in Yobe.

By: Yahaya Wakili

The District Head of Goya in the Fika emirate council of Yobe state, Alhaji Musa Garba Daya, has expressed his gratitude to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Yobe state, Hon. Dr. Mai Mala Buni CON, COMN, for the construction of a road from Fadawa to Daya, the headquarters of the district.

Daya said, For over forty years we have been appealing to the past governments to construct us this road, but it was not done until the government of Mai Mala Buni came to power. Therefore, the entire people of the Goya district have commended Governor Buni for his transformative leadership, which is really touching the lives of all the citizens of Yobe State.

Alhaji Musa Garba Daya made the commendation in Daya town while speaking to newsmen. He reiterated Buni’s administration’s commitment to rebuilding Yobe’s infrastructure, economy, and human capital. Adding that, still we are requesting more roads, such as a road from Daya to Janga to Yalwa and up to Boza.

The district head, with kudos to His Royal Highness, the Emir of Fika and Chairman of the Yobe State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abali Muhammad Idrisa CON, CFR, for appointing him as the new district head of Goya, noted that the position he inherited from his late father, Alhaji Garba Abdullahi Daya. (May his soul rest in peace), Ameen, and was made best on merit.

He revealed that what the royal father did to him and the entire people of the Goya district, they will never forget him up to the end of their lives and pray to Almighty Allah to protect him and give him good health, long life, and prosperity, and urge the people of the area to live in peace with one another.

According to him, what the people of Kukar-Gadu did last week is a welcome development; they made unveiling the potentials of Kukar-Gadu, as well as the presentation of the Kukar-Gadu physical development plan, and called on the people of the Goya district to emulate what the people of Kukar-Gadu did.

He challenged everyone in the Goya district to create something tangible that our people will benefit from, because most of our young men and women are staying idle with no work to do, and called on the people of the area to always continue praying for peace, adding that, without peace, there is no development.

The district head also solicits the support and cooperation of the people of the area to pray towards the development of Goya district, Fika emirate council, Fika local government area, and Yobe state at large.

District head commends Buni over road construction from Fadawa to Daya in Yobe

Cuba, Colombia React as US Confirms Military Strikes on Venezuela

By: Michael Mike

Cuba and Colombia have issued statements following reports of US military strikes on Venezuela, after multiple explosions were recorded in the capital, Caracas, early Saturday.

Residents reported loud blasts across several parts of the city, alongside sightings of warplanes, helicopters and what appeared to be unmanned aerial vehicles operating overhead. Venezuela’s government described the incident as a “serious military aggression,” alleging that US forces targeted both civilian and military sites in Caracas and in the surrounding states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

US President Donald Trump later confirmed that American forces carried out the operation, announcing that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country.

In a strongly worded response, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the action, calling on the international community to respond urgently. He described the strike as a criminal act that violated regional peace, accusing Washington of state terrorism against Venezuela and Latin America as a whole.

“Our zone of peace is under brutal assault,” Díaz-Canel said, expressing solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took a more measured approach, stating that his government was closely monitoring developments. He expressed concern over the reported explosions and increased aerial activity, warning against further escalation.

“The Colombian government rejects any unilateral military action that could worsen the crisis or endanger civilians,” Petro said.

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also condemned the strikes, describing them as an imperialist attack that violated Venezuela’s sovereignty. He pledged solidarity with the Venezuelan people, insisting the country was not facing the situation alone.

The developments unfold against the backdrop of longstanding tensions between Washington and Caracas. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela’s leadership of involvement in large-scale drug trafficking, claims the Maduro government has dismissed as justification for foreign intervention and regime change.

Cuba, Colombia React as US Confirms Military Strikes on Venezuela