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Three women killed as Bachama–Tsobo crisis resurfaces in Adamawa
Three women killed as Bachama–Tsobo crisis resurfaces in Adamawa
By: Zagazola Makama
The killing of three Tsobo women on a dry season rice farm in Numan Local Government Area has reignited the Bachama–Chobo conflict, whose roots stretch far beyond the sound of gunfire.
Zagazola Makama report that the latest incident occurred on Friday at about 10:30 a.m. while some Tsobo women were working on their dry-season rice farm. Sources said that suspected Bachama youths stormed the farming area in large numbers and began shooting sporadically. In the process, three women were shot dead,” the source said.
The killing of the three Tsobo women on a dry-season rice farm in Numan is not an isolated tragedy. It is the latest expression of a conflict whose roots lie far deeper than gunshots, farmlands or a single failed peace meeting.
The Bachama–Chobo crisis is a classic Nigerian communal conflict, layered, historical, emotional and politically combustible where land ownership, identity, chieftaincy authority and generational amnesia have fused into a dangerous cocktail.
At its core, the crisis is not merely about who owns which farmland. It is about who belongs, who rules, and who decides the future of a shared space. For centuries, Bachama and Chobo communities lived together in Numan and its environs under a largely harmonious arrangement. Markets were shared. Water points were communal. Schools, hospitals and even marriages crossed ethnic lines. There was no rigid separation between “host” and “settler” in daily life.
That coexistence was sustained not by written treaties or court judgments, but by social contracts rooted in tradition, mutual respect and the authority of traditional institutions. Disputes over land were settled locally. Authority was recognised, even if grudgingly. Peace endured because both sides saw coexistence as more valuable than confrontation.
What has changed is not history but how history is interpreted, weaponised and transmitted to younger generations. The Bachama and Chobo tell fundamentally different origin stories, and each story carries political implications.
The Chobo present themselves as original inhabitants, landlords who accommodated Bachama migrants out of goodwill. From this perspective, the Bachama are “guests” who have overstayed their welcome and now seek to dominate both land and chieftaincy.
The Bachama counter this narrative by portraying the Chobo as mountain dwellers who were encouraged to descend into the plains, settled and supported through leased farmlands. In this account, Bachama authority is not imposed but historically earned.
Neither narrative is neutral. Each defines who has moral legitimacy, who should defer, and who has the right to rule. Once such narratives harden, compromise becomes betrayal and dialogue becomes surrender.
Investigations and community testimonies consistently point to farmland disputes involving Waduku and Rigange as the immediate triggers of violence. But land is only the spark, not the fuel. Land disputes in Nigeria rarely remain about boundaries alone. They quickly evolve into questions of identity and power, especially where farming is the primary means of survival.
For Chobo communities described as largely mountain dwellers, access to fertile plains is existential. For Bachama communities, control of land reinforces political and traditional dominance. Once farming rights are framed as existential threats, moderation disappears.
Historically, traditional rulers resolved such disputes. Today, that mechanism is broken.
The Chobo’s rejection of traditional mediation stems from their perception that the entire traditional hierarchy is Bachama-dominated, making justice structurally impossible. From their standpoint, accepting verdicts from Bachama-led institutions amounts to legitimising subordination.
The Bachama, however, see this rejection as bad faith and intransigence, especially when mediation panels include Chobo representatives. Each side believes the other is deliberately undermining peace. This mutual distrust has hollowed out traditional conflict-resolution systems, leaving a vacuum filled by courts, security forces and increasingly youth militancy.
Perhaps the most dangerous element in the crisis is generational. Older community leaders remember coexistence. Younger actors remember grievance. Many of today’s youths were born into suspicion, not solidarity. They inherited anger without inheriting context.
Slogans like “Sokoto must go” illustrate how historical migration narratives are simplified into political weapons. Such rhetoric does not seek negotiation; it seeks erasure. Once a community is told it must “return” after centuries of settlement, violence becomes not only possible but, to some, justified. Social media, music and street mobilisation have amplified these sentiments, weakening elders’ authority and making youth groups de facto power brokers.
The chieftaincy question has transformed the conflict from communal disagreement into a struggle over sovereignty. Bachama leaders insist that Chobo fall under the statutory authority of the Hamma Bachama. Chobo leaders reject this, seeing it as symbolic domination. Withdrawal of allegiance was not merely cultural, it was political defiance.
Peace talks collapsed largely because reconciliation was framed as submission rather than coexistence. Apologies demanded, loyalties reaffirmed and conditions imposed turned dialogue into a zero-sum contest. In conflicts of identity, dignity often matters more than land.
The Adamawa State Government, through peace agencies and direct intervention by Gov. Ahmadu Umar Fintiri, has made sustained efforts to mediate between the warring communities. Multiple meetings involving elders, youth representatives, traditional rulers and government officials have been held. Yet, each round of talks has ended without lasting agreement, often undermined by fresh outbreaks of violence shortly after. Curfews and security deployments have restored temporary calm, but residents say such measures amount to enforced silence rather than genuine peace.
The renewed violence has taken a heavy toll on civilians, particularly women engaged in farming and trading.
Community leaders lament that farms and markets once symbols of shared livelihood have become theatres of bloodshed. The killing of women working on rice farms has deepened fears and resentment, reinforcing the sense that the conflict has spiralled beyond control. The Bachama–Chobo crisis mirrors broader challenges across Nigeria, where disputes over land, identity and traditional authority intersect with weak dispute-resolution mechanisms and rising youth radicalisation.
Until issues of legitimacy, land access and historical grievances are addressed through an inclusive and neutral process, observers warn that violence will continue to recur.
End
Troops rescue 13 abducted Benue Links passengers, including students en route to sit for JAMB
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have rescued 13 passengers abducted from a Benue Links commercial bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo road.
Zagazola report that the victims were among 17 passengers kidnapped on April 15 while travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo in Benue State. Three of the victims had earlier escaped from captivity, bringing the total number of those now safe to 16.
According to security sources, the rescue was achieved at about 190320A April 19 during a sustained search-and-rescue operation conducted by troops of Sub-Sector 1B, OPWS, in Ohimini Local Government Area.
The victims were located and rescued in a forested area around Okete Ward, behind the Idoma Doctors Forum building, following intensive tracking and exploitation of intelligence on the kidnappers’ movement.
Security sources further clarified that the perpetrators were local criminal elements in Benue and not Fulani bandits as initially speculated in some quarters. The attack was however, hastily attributed to external groups without proper verification.
“The operation was carried out professionally, leading to the safe recovery of 13 victims. Preliminary findings indicate that the perpetrators are criminal elements from within the state and not external armed groups as widely speculated,” the source said.
Those rescued include Hycent Oko (56), Elaiguli Joshua (25), Orili Raphael (29), Sunday Augustine (18), Emmanuel Elaicha (21), Gbile Nguyor Daniel (18), Ukacha Tersoo (18), Nyikwagh Aoridakator (22), Iornav Ngukuhan (18), Nyikwagh Benjamin (18), Buker Agatha (19), Paul Wende (29) and Akor Jessica (19).
The victims were immediately evacuated to the General Hospital in Otukpo, where they are currently receiving medical attention. Some of them sustained varying degrees of injuries during their captivity.
Further checks revealed that eight of the rescued passengers were students en route to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations at the time they were abducted, a development that underscores the disruptive impact of criminal activities on education and civil life.
The incident illustrated a growing trend of internally driven criminality, where local elements exploit familiar terrain and community networks to carry out abductions.
“This case clearly shows that not all security incidents should be viewed through ethnic or external lenses. Addressing insecurity requires acknowledging the role of local criminal networks and strengthening community cooperation with security agencies,” the source added.
Troops have since intensified operations in the general area to track down the perpetrators and rescue the remaining victim still in captivity.
Military high command reiterated their commitment to sustaining pressure on criminal elements across Benue and adjoining states, while urging residents to provide credible information that could aid ongoing operations.
They also reassured commuters and residents of continued efforts to secure major routes and restore confidence in public transportation across the state.
Troops rescue 13 abducted Benue Links passengers, including students en route to sit for JAMB
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have recovered a cache of ammunition during a fighting patrol in Mallam Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
Security sources said the operation was conducted at about 7:30 a.m. on April 18 by troops of 68 Battalion deployed in the area.
The patrol was carried out ahead of the troops’ defensive location toward a suspected withdrawal route used by insurgents following an earlier attack on March 18.
During the operation, troops recovered 166 rounds of PKT linked ammunition and one bandolier.
No contact was made with any terrorist elements during the patrol.
They added that the general security situation across the theatre remains calm but unpredictable, while troops continue to maintain high morale and operational effectiveness.
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
News
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified their crackdown on drug trafficking networks, intercepting cocaine ingeniously concealed in food flasks and cannabis hidden in snack packs, while arresting multiple suspects including a Lagos-based fashion designer.
The agency in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said 12 large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.8 kilogrammes were uncovered at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Babafemi said the illicit consignment, bound for the United Kingdom via a Virgin Atlantic flight, was discovered in the false bottoms of food flasks on April 9.
He disclosed that two cargo agents—Ama Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Akorede, 39—were arrested at the point of interception, with subsequent investigations leading to the arrest of the alleged sender, 52-year-old freight forwarder Agoro Moninuola.
In a related operation a day earlier, NDLEA operatives at the airport’s import shed intercepted 2.9 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs arriving from the United States aboard a Delta Air Lines flight.
He noted that initial arrests of cargo clearing agents Animashaun Adetunji and Mercy Oluwasegun paved the way for the apprehension of the consignee, Saheed Adegoke, a 29-year-old fashion designer, who was later tracked and arrested in Ogba, Lagos.
Beyond the airports, NDLEA operations extended across several states with significant seizures recorded. Along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, operatives intercepted a cement-laden trailer transporting 847 kilogrammes of skunk. The driver, Umar Garba Haruna, was taken into custody.
In Cross River State, a joint operation involving NDLEA officers and security personnel led to the destruction of 15,000 kilogrammes of cannabis cultivated on six hectares of farmland in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area. A suspect, Alice Udoh, 53, was arrested, while 119 kilogrammes of the substance was recovered.
Similarly, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis camp in Ovia North East Local Government Area, destroying over 2,281 kilogrammes of the drug and arresting three suspects. Additional arrests were made in Delta State, where over 87 kilogrammes of skunk and cannabis seeds were seized.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of 11,900 tramadol capsules and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injections along the Mile 2–Badagry expressway, with the consignment reportedly destined for Ghana. A separate raid on a two-storey building in Lagos Island yielded 95.8 kilogrammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign nationwide, conducting sensitization programmes in schools, religious centres, and communities across states including Niger, Cross River, Kogi, Katsina, Kano, and Lagos.
Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the balance between aggressive enforcement and preventive education, urging officers to maintain the current momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
NDLEA Busts Drug Rings, Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Food Flasks, Arrests Fashion Designer, Others
Troops foil kidnap attempt in Edo, arrest five suspects, recover rifle
Troops rescue 13 abducted Benue Links passengers, including students en route to sit for JAMB
Hamza Suleiman NAN: Troops recover ammunition during patrol in Borno
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