I had thought we had long gone past the dark era of profiling citizens on highways and slaughtering innocent travellers simply because they share an ethnic or religious identity with perceived enemies. Sadly, that nightmare resurfaced on Monday, 23rd February 2026, in Dorowa Babuje, Barakin Ladi Local Government Area. Four young traders on their way to Pankshin Monday Market were singled out and brutally killed. Just the previous night, bandits attacked a hotel in the same community, leaving nine people dead. Only last Friday, reports emerged that three young Fulani herdsmen who had gone missing were later found killed and mutilated. These tragic incidents appear to have ignited yet another vicious cycle of reprisals, deepening the spiral of violence that continues to haunt our dear Plateau.
Let it be clearly stated: it is barbaric, criminal, and utterly unacceptable to block highways and murder innocent citizens who know nothing about the conflicts fueling these attacks. Collective punishment is not justice; it is savagery. Two wrongs can never make a right. While communities have the right to defend themselves when attacked, vengeance against harmless travellers only multiplies grief and widens divisions. The primary responsibility for security rests with the state, and its failure to decisively protect lives and property has left citizens vulnerable and frustrated. I have consistently maintained that Nigerians must not be abandoned to slaughter while the state looks away. Security agencies must rise to their constitutional duty and ensure that those responsible for these heinous crimes are identified, arrested, and brought to justice.
I unequivocally condemn the killing of these young traders who were engaged in legitimate business, as well as every other innocent life lost in this renewed circle of human carnage. My heartfelt condolences go to the families of all the victims. No community should be defined by the actions of criminals, and no grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives. Plateau has suffered enough. It is time to break this cycle of retaliation and give peace a genuine chance. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may God comfort their families and heal our land. Amen.
Solomon Dalung LLM, LLB, BL
Garkuwa Arewa, Dike Egwureogwu & Igbarman Otarok.
Voice of the Silent Majority
igbarman@gmail.com
