In Plateau State, the sound of gunfire is no longer shocking. It is expected. What follows each incident has also become predictable outrage, media attention, blames and accusations, as well as a rush to frame the tragedy within familiar narratives.
The latest reports of miners lynched by unknown gunmen have once again drawn national and international attention.
Youth leaders, clerics, and advocacy groups are already describing the incident in sweeping terms, some branding it as genocide.
But beneath the headlines lies a more complicated and more troubling reality. Plateau is not witnessing isolated acts of violence.
It is caught in a deeply entrenched cycle of reprisals, where attacks and counter-attacks have become the norm, and where truth is often buried beneath sentiment and selective narratives.
In the early hours of April 3, troops responded to a distress call from Sabongida village in Jos South Local Government Area.
What they found was grim: the lifeless, beheaded body of a 30-year-old herder, identified as Shafiyu, lying in the bush.
Security sources indicated that the killing was allegedly carried out by suspected Berom youths while security personnel documented the attackers as hoodlums.
Before the shock of that incident could settle, retaliation came swiftly.Full Details. .
