News Editor
By Dahiru Yusuf Yabo PGD-CMPC, MCM & MPPA
Once again, Plateau State is bathed in blood. Zike and Kimakpa villages in Bassa Local Government Area have been attacked, and 49 lives have been cut short, barely two weeks after dozens were slaughtered in Bokkos. What manner of leadership presides over a state or nation where communities are left to count their dead in dozens with numbing regularity? Nigeria must confront the bitter truth: we are failing our citizens, particularly in the Middle Belt.
The tragedy of Plateau is no longer a news story—it is a symptom of a deeper institutional collapse. Behind the sterile headlines are mothers mourning children, fathers burying entire families, and survivors clinging to life in overcrowded hospitals. And yet, beyond routine condemnations and tokenistic security deployments, there is no sign of strategic, determined action to end the carnage.
What is most painful is that these killings are not new—nor are they unpredictable. They follow a chillingly familiar pattern: armed men descend on defenseless villages at night, unleash mayhem, and melt away before help arrives. The survivors bury their dead while leaders issue statements, and then… silence, until the next attack. This cycle has gone on for years.
Where is the proactive intelligence gathering? Why are attackers never caught or prosecuted? How is it that hundreds are killed in coordinated attacks, yet no high-level resignations or national emergency measures follow?
The Plateau State Government, commendably, has voiced its frustration. The Commissioner of Information lamented that the attack is “one too many.” But the people of Plateau—and indeed Nigeria—deserve more than frustration. They deserve security, justice, and peace.
This is not just a Plateau problem. It is a Nigerian problem. It speaks to the erosion of state capacity, the failure of our federal structure to secure lives, and the dangerous normalization of mass murder in rural areas. If 49 people were killed in Maitama or Ikoyi in one night, would the national response be the same?
The time has come to stop treating these killings as local skirmishes. They are acts of terrorism, possibly with ethnic cleansing undertones. Nigeria must respond accordingly—with military precision, political will, and humanitarian urgency.
We must demand the following:
1. An independent, high-level investigative panel to probe the Bokkos and Bassa killings.
2. Deployment of well-trained rapid response units, not poorly equipped detachments.
3. Federal compensation and reconstruction funds for affected communities.
4. A truth and reconciliation commission to address the deep-rooted tensions fueling violence.
5. Accountability at the highest levels—including resignations or dismissals for dereliction of duty.
Nigeria is at a crossroads. If we cannot protect our citizens from being slaughtered in their homes, then we have no right to call ourselves a democratic state governed by law.
History will remember how we responded to these killings. Let us act now—before more communities are erased from the map and more lives become statistics in another sad report.
Dahiru Yusuf Yabo
Political & Security Analyst
15th April 2025
