Unraveling the Dangerous Myth Around Armed Berom Bandits or Militias in Plateau

By: Zagazola Makama

Every time troops recover another locally fabricated rifle from armed youths in Plateau, the same tired explanation immediately follows: “They are only defending themselves.”

Apparently, according to the President of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM) Barr. Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, the loudest promoters of dangerous rhetoric that has continued to ignite mass violence across Plateau State.

The people now “defend themselves” with organized militia networks, coordinated night attacks, attack on the Nigerian Army Troops, cattle rustling syndicates, ambushes on highways and while piling up locally fabricated assault weapons hidden inside villages.

Interesting definition of self-defense.
The latest arrest of a Berom militia member in possession of a locally fabricated rifle in Barkin Ladi again exposes a reality many deliberately avoid discussing publicly. The weapon recovered was similar to the same category of fabricated rifles and arms earlier intercepted by troops of Operation Enduring Peace during raids on illegal arms production sites linked to militia activities in Plateau State.

But somehow, every recovery of illegal weapons is quickly rebranded as “community protection.” One almost expects people to believe these rifles manufacture themselves naturally inside village compounds purely for peaceful neighborhood watch activities.

What security reports continue to reveal is far more disturbing. For months now, troops have repeatedly uncovered evidence showing that some armed Berom militia elements are not merely reacting defensively, but are actively involved in coordinated attacks, targeted killings, silent assassinations, cattle rustling operations and armed raids against pastoralist settlements and rival communities. This weapons, sometimes are even sold to Fulani Bandits and other criminal groups who return to attack same communities.

Zagazola Makama has consistently reported incidents where armed youths linked to militia groups attacked herders, rustled cattle, poisoned livestock, opened fire on grazing settlements and carried out reprisals long before counterattacks followed. In most cases, the victims who fall prey to these attackers have nothing to do with the violence.

On April 22, suspected militia members reportedly rustled 84 cattle belonging to Fulani pastoralists around Makera axis in Riyom before troops later recovered the livestock and arrested suspects. On April 26, another Fulani herder was killed while six cows were shot dead and more than 20 others wounded during attacks linked to armed youths in the same axis. At Rafin Bauna in Bassa, armed youths again reportedly opened fire on Fulani settlements before troops intervened.

But strangely, those attacks rarely trend internationally or reported by any Nigerian mainstream media, because dead Fulani herders and stolen cattle apparently do not fit the fashionable “single-victim narrative” many conflict entrepreneurs prefer to market abroad.

The most dangerous part of this crisis is the carefully cultivated illusion that militia violence somehow becomes morally acceptable once wrapped inside ethnic victimhood narratives.

Today, armed groups attack settlements at night, ambush herders, rustle cattle and target isolated communities. Tomorrow, reprisals follow. Then suddenly everyone acts shocked that violence escalated again.

Plateau’s tragedy is that too many people want to discuss only the retaliation while pretending the earlier provocation never happened. Even more alarming is the growing sophistication of local militia operations.

Security agencies have uncovered illegal arms fabrication networks, recovered locally made rifles and intercepted armed youths moving in coordinated groups across flashpoints. Troops have also repeatedly responded to attacks linked to mining routes and remote settlements where armed groups exploit difficult terrain to launch hit-and-run assaults.

Yet each arrest is immediately politicized. protest follows immediately by naked women and youths.

Once security forces arrest armed youths from certain communities, activists begin screaming about “targeting indigenous people.” But when the same armed youths are moving around with fabricated rifles, attacking settlements and resisting arrest, the silence becomes deafening.

Apparently, in Plateau’s modern conflict mathematics, illegal weapons become “cultural artifacts” once found in the hands of the “correct” ethnic bandits militia.

Last week, only one Berom came out to condemned the alleged arrest of five youths reportedly caught manufacturing firearms, describing the act as terrorism and urging communities to refrain from supporting unlawful armed activities.

He said the arrested youths were allegedly found manufacturing guns and assembling ammunition on their own, adding that such actions should not be justified under the guise of community protection. According to him, any claim of self-defence by individuals or groups must be known to community leaders and relevant government authorities, rather than being carried out secretly by a few persons stockpiling arms.

He argued that the development amounted to terrorism and should be treated as such, insisting that the youths involved must be properly investigated to determine who they were producing the weapons for and how they were being used. The speaker also cautioned against ethnic interpretations of the incident, noting that criminal acts should not be defended on communal or religious grounds.

One of the biggest lies repeatedly pushed is that these militias are merely local hunters protecting villages from invaders. If that were true, why are they attacking the Nigerian troops. In Mangu troops came under heavy fire as a result one Senior officer was gunned down. Troops have consistently recovered rustled cattle, fabricated rifles, ammunition and motorcycles abandoned during offensive pursuits?

Why have there been repeated reports of armed mobilization before attacks on Fulani settlements? Why have troops repeatedly come under hostility while attempting to arrest suspects? Why were checkpoints dismantled and troops attacked in communities they were deployed to protect? The same troops were to be blamed when attack happened in the community.

The uncomfortable truth is that some militia networks in Plateau have evolved beyond “community defense.” They now operate as armed ethnic enforcement groups sustaining cycles of retaliation while hiding behind emotional narratives. And unfortunately, every reprisal they provoke creates another reprisal in return.

This does not excuse criminal retaliation by armed Fulani elements. Criminality remains criminality regardless of ethnicity. Fulani militias carrying out revenge attacks are equally responsible for worsening the bloodshed. But honesty demands acknowledging that the violence is not one-sided.

What is happening across Plateau is not a simple movie script of “evil attackers versus innocent victims.” It is a deadly ecosystem of revenge, militia mobilization, cattle rustling, land disputes, ethnic propaganda and retaliatory violence feeding itself endlessly.

Sadly, some community leaders continue radicalizing young men with inflammatory rhetoric while pretending surprise when violence spirals beyond control. And perhaps the greatest irony of all is this: the same people constantly accusing security forces of failure are often the same people resisting arrests, obstructing investigations and defending armed youths caught with illegal weapons.

Then after every reprisal attack, they ask why the violence never ends. A mystery indeed.

Unraveling the Dangerous Myth Around Armed Berom Bandits or Militias in Plateau