Since the brutal and unequally-yoked
Biafran war of independence, Nigeria has not witnessed the type of systemic and
coordinated killings that we have had in recent times. It started with intermittent ‘religious’ and ‘ethnic’ crises in the North, the Boko
Haram crises (which started from Borno State), the tempo of which rises and
falls like the irrepressible abiku, criminals masquerading as
Biafran liberators, kidnappers who kill
or release as the spirit directs, bandits who kill for fun but more often
for money and ‘Fulani herdsmen’ who
murder, displace and occupy communities with their scotched earth strategy
and operation
shock and awe (Vanguard reported that 20 of the 23 LGAs in Benue have
been overtaken by these friendly herdsmen). As you can see,
armed robbers are now out of business nationwide because their craft is no
longer profitable! Amnesty International reports that armed violence claimed 10217 lives since 2023 with 600+ villages
sacked; Daily Trust puts the number at 91740 in the past 13 years while the
Nigerian Bureau of Statistics reported
above 614937 in a year (Dilay Trust, 18/12/24), just as Business Day put
the figure at 10,000 within two years. In the first half of 2025 more than 1000 have been killed in the
bloodied fields of Benue and Plateau, where regular massacres are the norm.
Compare this with the full-blown 12-day Israeli-Iran war, in which Iran lost
just 1060, or the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where only 13341
have died since 2022. In effect, we are worse than countries at war. It has
become so bad that Nigerians, just as in the cases of corruption and criminal
heists of our patrimony, are no longer shocked.
Affected communities would bury and mourn their dead and life goes on,
at home or in neglected IDPs. We have taken them as one of those things.
Official responses anywhere ‘it
happens’ are the same or similar. The Federal Government would condemn
the blood-thirsty marauders in strongest terms; the IGP will promise
never to leave any stone unturned to the extent that there are no more
stones to be turned while the Chief of Defence staff would assure us ‘never
again’!
However all these changed when
some armed ‘migrant hunters’ and some wedding travellers were killed in Edo
and Plateau states. The ‘huntership’
of the armed Edo victims is still in doubt as they left ALL the forests in the
North, including Sambissa, to go hunting (not fishing) in the riverine Rivers
State. Whatever the numbers were, even
if it is one person, it deserves serious attention and investigation to punish
the culprits and prevent recurrence. But the two aforementioned incidents
changed our reaction to, and perception
of, these things.
Even the Odi massacre did not
receive the type of reactions that trailed the Edo killings of 26/3/25. It was
by God’s grace and the begging
missionary journey of Edo State Governor, that it did not get into a
real war; but the verbal war was horrendous. It led to a ridiculous case of ‘governor
begging governor’ as the governor of Edo state begged his Kano
counterpart, begged the Deputy Senate
President, begged the families and offered to ‘pay adequate
compensations’ and repeatedly recounted all his efforts since the incident
happened, including proper burial for the corpses . In the second week of August,
he reassured that the compensation process was in progress. This is the first
time I have heard of compensation for victims of this kind of incident. The
Police arrested 14 suspects within 48 hours while the presidency reacted before the day ended. Atiku (who retracted his condemnation
of the gruesome murder of Deborah on a flimsy excuse that it was shared
without his authorisation) Kwakwanso, (who
described it as a harrowing display of mob injustice and a sad reminder of the barbarity
of jungle justice) Arewa Youths( who stood ‘united in outrage and
condemnation of the horrific events at Uromi), JNI, Northern Elders
forum, (who insisted that The
animalistic and cannibalistic acts of recklessness from some southern part of
Nigeria must stop; public prosecution of perpetrators and those that aided
them, due payment of compensations and an UNRESERVED apology from the people
and authorities in Edo State …within 14 days), Muslim Lawyers
Association and Northern Senators Forum were amongst individuals and organisations
who made fiery condemnatory statements about the gruesome murder of these Nigerians.
There were demonstrations in Kano where the protestants among other things
reminded us that hunting is not a crime. Talking about Debora, the criminals who
murdered her were charged with the bail-able offence of inciting public
disturbance and Professor Mansur Ibrahim led a crowd of 34 lawyers, who easily
secured their acquittal.
There is nothing wrong with all
this except that innocent people have been butchered, their houses set afire
and their land occupied in the recent past. And the usual responses are silence
or politically-correct comments. The police would usually respond after the
perpetrators had fled, probably arrest the victims and assure that investigation
would continue. Compare the flurry of responses and reactions, especially from
the Governor of Edo state, with the reactions to the Yelewata massacres. In Edo, it was ‘killing’ but in Benue, it was a
massacre
and I am not sure I heard anything from the northern groups during the Yelwata Massacre. Probably, Benue is no
longer a part of the North!
Before long, some travellers from
Kaduna State were killed in Plateau State on their way to a wedding. The
continuous bloodletting in Plateau can only compare with that of their
neighbour, Benue and the governor had reported that 64 communities had been displaced
in the state. The number of the dead and houses burnt is uncountable and those
living in IDPs are in the hundreds of thousands. It has become so much that
people no longer complain.
On 21/6/25, 13 Kaduna travellers were killed in Mangu, Plateau State. The same
flurry of activities and condemnations, similar to Edo State incident occurred.
Northern Governors called for SWIFT action; the Kaduna Governor roared,
informing that he spoke to the President, Security Adviser, Chief of Defense
Staff, regretting ‘These were innocent people
people who were goin for a wedding and
they were killed’ and assuring that ‘This will not happen again because I will enure that justice is obtained.’ Before
long, 22 of the pepertrators were arrested, because the command ‘responded swiftly by deploying
personnel and other operational asstets to the scene, which led to the arrest
of the pepetrators… so fast? We
were informed that ALL of them would have been killed but for the timely intervention of the security operatives ! Good; How many
times have they intervened in the heat
of the action before? Most often they
the intervention comes after the event! How many of those who caused the
June-hem(
not mayhem!) in Benue and even in that Plateau, have been arrested? The governor visited the scene
immediately, condemned the incident, reached out to the Emir of Zauzau and promised to send a high powered delegation
to the people and government of Kaduna State, assuring them that it was a mob
action, not premeditated attack. Why did the mob act? They had witnessed a lot,
including promisses without any outcome. The bandits or whatever they are
called had become more brazen and all the promises of aprehending and punishing
them have not yielded any fruits! It was misplaced aggression and and a way of venting their helplessness! The Emir of Wase ultimately led the high powered delegation to
the Emir of Zazau
When I juxtapose
the official and unofficial reactions to the
murder of Kano hunters at Uromi and Kaduna Travellers at Mangu, I am left with no other option than to ask: Are all animals still equal?
Why should the reaction be based on the ‘quality’ and origin of people killed?
What were the reactions to Benue and Plateau massacres , especially the Yelwata
massacre( which was turned into a 2027 campaign affair), which have become commonplace? How did the
Governor of Edo state react to the
killings of his own people by herdsmen
before? Has he offered any compensation before? How many governors or emirs had gone to beg in
Benue, Plateau, Zamfara Kastina and Enugu States? Every soul matters and when people
are killed by armed or armless mobs, we should react alike
because ALL animals are supposed to be equal or are all animals no longer equal? Are we to agree with the comment of an OAP at Nigerian Info 99.3 FM that while
government bothers about the lives of
its citizens, the botherness depends on the person in question. That means that
we are equal but yet, we are not equal!
Meanwhile, things are not easing
off. In the last one month, the tempo of bloodletting by known terrorists rose to the ‘nth’ level. I say that
they are known, relying on the surefooted
statement of Governor Dauda Lawal that he knows where the bandits are, their locations and their
movements but could not go beyond his capacity as police take orders from Abuja.
Some folks have now called for his head
for withholding information from security operatives as if the later do not know where these terrorists
are! Even Kwara state, which was off the radar has ‘joined’ and Kwarans are refugeeing to places unknown
In the second weekend in September, which Vanguard baptised as the BLOODY weekend, 102 compatriots were murdered in Borno, Sokoto, Kastina and Edo states. On 6/9/25 gunmen killed 8 Civil Defence operatives and abducted Chinese expatirates at the BUA cement factory in Kogi State. This has happened at a mining site before. On 7/9/25, BH terrorists murdered 66people in Borno but lost some members in a twin attack. Before long, bandits abducted more than 50 people in Zamfara, despite the so called peace deal. Three police officers were murdered and 7 ‘missing’ when their tactical team was ambushed in Benue state, similar to an ambush in Egbe, in Yagba West LGA of Kogi State. Earlier in July, 70 vigilantes were ambushed and killed in Plateau State and these probably make up the 12000 that have been murdered in 420 communities within Plateau State since 2001 as reported by Major Gen Nicholas (Rtd) Fact finding committee.
More attackes have been going on in Benue State where the CDS had assured
us NEVER
Again and in one ocassion, father, son and choir master were murdered,
as a result of which the people blocked the Makurdi Abuja Road in protest!. In
Plateau state there had been renewed
offensive including the attack on Tim Village in Chakfem District of Mangu LGA where 5
were killed. Bandits abducted 55 in Zamfara, abducted many along
the Kaza-Dayi road in Kankara LG of
Kastina State and intensified the
attacks on Benue-Plateau. They also had the audacity to attack and reportedly
overrun an army base in Born state with fatalities.
And as the attackes intensified, we have intensified our appeasement strategy, begging and negotiating with those that had caused grievous injury to the body and sould of the people. And to show their power, they atended such negotiations with enough arms to overrun some countries. Indeed, they practice their own version of show-of-force, giving conditions, threatening, advising the government that killing them woud not solve the problem, and making demands!You can imagine the optics when communities that have been put to the sword, see their assailants heavily armed in the presence of security operatives, talking authoritatively. How can a thoroughly frightened and already subdued hord of ‘armless’ locals discuss peace with a group of heavily armed bullies, some dressed in army uniforms, who had inflicted severe harm and have the capacity to inflict more harm?.They are in effect telling the people with verbal and body language ‘these government officials and security operatives cannot save you; you better comply’! Faskari LGA, one of the worst hit in Kastina spearheded the ‘peace-talk’ with heavily armed and self-acclaimed bandits and the Kastina State Government has affirmed the negotiations. Adamu Alero, whose name ought to be in the Guinness Book of Records for bloodletting and Kwashe Garwa, number 19 in Nigeria’s most-wanted list were part of the peaceful negotiators. Also in the league of ‘peace-seekers’ was Mustapha Babaro, who kidnapped General Tsiga and led the massacre at Gidan Mantau Mosque. How can people who have wrecked havoc and keep on flaunting their ability to cause more havoc, say they are ready for peace? A bully only cowers when he meets a superior bully. One unknown Nigerian saw this as an insult to Nigerian security forces, to justice and to every family that suffered … negotiating with terrorists is terrorism in itself! Bulama Bukarti is of the view that giving these armed bandits the platform to showcase their power and incite fear evidences that the State has surrendered to them while Gumi is of the view that the negotiations should not be disturbed, or else…
However, as we are negotiating
with self- acclaimed terrorists, Nnamdi Kanu who was kidnapped from Kenya is
undergoing endless trial for the past five years despite the numerous court
orders for his release, while the entire security forces in Nigeria are
searching for one marauder named Gentle Yahoo, whom we don’t know if he is alive
or dead. Unfortunately, our security men are bearing the brunt as it was
reported that more than 50 of them were killed within a period of 2 weeks in
September. It is no consolation that
they were able to neutralize Kackhala, one of the most notorious
bandits within this period.
Other Matters: Remembering Imam Abubakar
Abdulahi
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