“Wallahi, if you cannot protect us, allow our children to defend us,” grieving mother cries after son and livestock killings by Mwaghavul militiamen in Mangu By: Zagazola Makama The mother of a Fulani herder reportedly killed during an attack at Lawet and Lamor in Pushit District, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, has made an emotional appeal to security agencies to protect her family and other vulnerable residents from further attacks. In an emotional video obtained by Zagazola Makama, the grieving mother, overwhelmed by the loss of her son, called on the authorities to take immediate action and prevent further killings. “Wallahi, if you cannot protect us, allow our own children to defend us,” she said, expressing frustration over what she described as the failure of authorities to provide adequate protection. The woman was speaking after her son was reportedly killed during the attack on herders and livestock around Lawet and Lamor at about 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. According to information from the area, the attackers suspected to be Mwaghavul militiamen reportedly used tear-gas canisters before opening fire with automatic rifles, allegedly targeting cattle that had been tied inside enclosures at the residences of the herders. One Fulani herder was reportedly killed, while the exact number of cattle killed or injured was still being established. The circumstances surrounding the attack and the identities of those responsible are yet to be independently established. The mother’s emotional appeal, however, highlights a deeper concern in the continuing violence in parts of Mangu: when victims believe that the state cannot protect them or deliver justice, some may begin to consider taking security into their own hands. That is precisely the point at which a security crisis can become even more dangerous. The tragedy is that a grieving family seeking protection can easily become a community mobilised for retaliation if authorities fail to respond quickly and credibly. At the same time, calls for self-defence must not become a licence for reprisals against innocent people.Every community has civilians who deserve protection, regardless of ethnicity or religion. The growing frustration among victims also places a responsibility on the Plateau State Government and security authorities to demonstrate, through concrete action, that violence will be investigated and that perpetrators will face the law.

FACT-CHECK: How a man killed in 2023 is now being recycled as a “terror kingpin” in Plateau By: Zagazola Makama There is something deeply disturbing about the latest circulation of a photograph purportedly showing a suspected “terror kingpin” arrested in Riyom, Plateau State. The more disturbing issue is that the man Alhaji Adamu Idris Gabdo, the Ardo of Panyam in Mangu Local Government Area, whose photograph appears to have been recycled was himself victim of targeted killing in Plateau. His disappearance, death and recovery of his remains were publicly documented by the Nigerian military in 2023. Three years after his death, his image is now being dragged back into the security narrative this time apparently as though he were a perpetrator. That is not a harmless mistake. In a conflict as sensitive as Plateau, turning the photograph of a dead victim into the face of an alleged terrorist can distort the historical record, dishonour the dead and potentially inflame the living. On September 24, 2023, Adamu Idris Gabdo was reported missing after travelling to Panyam. His disappearance generated considerable tension because of the already fragile security situation in Mangu. Operation Safe Haven subsequently launched a search operation. On October 5, 2023, the military announced that its troops had recovered Gabdo’s remains around Boi, along the Pankshin–Bauchi Road in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The remains were handed over to his family for burial. It referred to him as the late community leader and said the recovery of his remains would enable investigations to identify those responsible for what it described as a heinous crime. In other words: Gabdo was not identified by the military as an attacker. He was identified as the victim of a killing. The chronology becomes even more important. On November 8, 2023, the Nigerian Army announced that troops of Operation Safe Haven had arrested Philip Gokas, also known as Jaykimo, in Lagos. The Army described Gokas as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of the late Adamu Idris Gabdo. The Army said the suspect had admitted involvement and was providing information that could assist investigators in apprehending other suspects. This means that the historical record already contains a very important distinction: Adamu Idris Gabdo = the murdered Ardo of Panyam. Philip Gokas/Jaykimo = the person the Army announced in 2023 as an alleged mastermind in Gabdo’s murder. That distinction cannot now be erased by attaching Gabdo’s photograph to an entirely different security narrative three years later. The September 24, 2026 report that triggered the latest circulation says security sources reported the arrest of a suspected key figure in Riyom. But there is a crucial detail that appears to have been lost in the social-media amplification. There have been genuine arrests in connection with violence in Plateau. For example, in August 2026, Plateau police confirmed the arrest of a suspect believed to be linked to the Bi Mper attack in Mangu that killed 25 people. Channels Television reported the police confirmation and noted that investigations were continuing. Therefore, fact-checking this latest Riyom report does not mean denying that security agencies are conducting operations or making arrests. Nor does it mean defending anyone suspected of committing violence. The question is much narrower and much more important:

The Plateau State Government cannot continue to pretend that violence becomes a crisis only when there is a reprisal. The most disturbing part of the worsening insecurity in Plateau is not only the killings themselves, but the selective outrage and apparent institutional silence that follows them. When Fulani civilians are killed in their hamlets, the response from government often appears muted, or completely absent. But the moment there is a reprisal, the government suddenly finds its voice, its condemnation becomes loud, and the incident becomes the centre of attention. Thats when everybody wants America and Isreal to know. That is a dangerous double standard. A government cannot afford to treat the death of one community as routine while treating the death of another as a national emergency. Every innocent life lost in Plateau should carry the same weight, whether the victim is Fulani, Berom, Mwaghavul, Hausa or any other community. The continued silence surrounding attacks on Fulani communities is particularly dangerous because it creates the perception that some victims do not matter. Once communities begin to believe that government will not protect them or seek justice for them, they naturally lose confidence in the state. And that is where the cycle of violence becomes almost impossible to stop. Government cannot condemn the fire while ignoring who lit the match. It is unacceptable for authorities to condemn reprisal attacks without equally confronting the attacks that preceded them. You cannot keep condemning the smoke while refusing to investigate the fire. If a farmer is killed, arrest the killers. If a herder is killed, arrest the killers. If a village is attacked, investigate it. If livestock are destroyed deliberately, investigate it. If innocent civilians are massacred, bring those responsible to justice. The identity of the victim should never determine the urgency of the government’s response. Silence is not neutrality The state government’s apparent reluctance to speak forcefully when Fulani civilians are killed is not helping reconciliation. If anything, it risks convincing affected communities that they have been abandoned. That perception is combustible. A government that genuinely wants peace must be prepared to tell its own supporters uncomfortable truths. It must condemn wrongdoing even when the perpetrators come from communities considered politically sympathetic. Leadership is not defending your people when they are right. Leadership is confronting them when they are wrong too. Anything less is political convenience masquerading as peacebuilding. The Plateau Government should wake up before the situation deteriorates further. Every unresolved killing becomes another grievance. Every unpunished attack becomes another justification for revenge. Every selective statement from government deepens suspicion. And eventually, the state risks becoming an observer in a conflict it has a constitutional duty to prevent. It is not the responsibility of the Military alone all the time. The government must stop waiting for reprisals before becoming interested in violence. @DHQNigeria @HQNigerianArmy

Funny how the script always changes depending on who is lying dead. When four herders and almost 40 livestock were killed in Mangu today, the microphones suddenly stop working, the outrage goes on holiday and the hashtags disappear. But let there be a reprisal, and suddenly the whole world is summoned to condemn “unprovoked violence.” Then they get angry with us for reporting the killings as they happen objectively. Apparently, the real offence is not killing people it is having the audacity to report the victims when they are Fulani. This selective outrage is dangerous. Everyone who stays silent when herders are attacked, only to become extremely vocal after reprisals, is contributing to the terror being mated against the people. Silence is not neutrality when it repeatedly favours one side. If we genuinely want the killing in Plateau to stop, we must condemn the killing of every innocent person. Be it a farmer, herder, Christian or Muslim with the same energy. More worrisome is the fact that the plateau state government will never condemned these attacks. You only hear them speak when it is the other way. A recent documentary by @BBCWorld exposed what we have been saying for a very long time.