Following the latest allegations on social media that some particular person operatives of one in all Nigeria’s safety forces had been allegedly collaborating with bandits in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, which led to a conflict between troopers and police personnel in the realm, Ejiofor Alike writes that the federal authorities ought to unravel the true reason behind the conflict
With the endless allegations by victims of insecurity, particularly in Benue and Plateau states that some particular person safety operatives assist the bandits terrorising a number of communities, it has turn into crucial for the federal authorities to arrange a high-powered investigative panel to unravel the true reason behind the latest conflict between the troops of the Nigerian Army and police personnel in Plateau State.
Despite the fee of the supreme worth by their gallant colleagues on the theater of operations, some particular person safety operatives have been caught collaborating with the brokers of terror.
Some operatives bought arms and ammunition to bandits, whereas others aided the attackers and shielded them from arrests and prosecution.
In a number of different instances, safety operatives served as informants to terrorists by giving them info on motion of troops thereby exposing the troops to ambush.
According to the assorted social media accounts of the October 20, 2026 conflict between the troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Enduring Peace, and police personnel, one of many safety forces was stated to have accused the operatives of an unnamed company of collaborating with bandits in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
However, neither the police authorities nor the army authorities confirmed any alleged collaboration between bandits and safety personnel from any company, and there was no unbiased affirmation.
But the allegation adopted the identical sample of earlier allegations by communities affected by armed herdsmen, who accused unscrupulous safety personnel of aiding the perpetrators of insecurity.
An earlier revelation by the indigenous youth teams in Plateau State that 151 villages had been forcibly occupied by armed international herdsmen with out the safety companies going after them had raised questions on the sincerity of the operatives in the combat towards the bandits.
Plateau Youth Associations from Atakar, Berom, Irigwe, Mwaghavwul, and Ron ethnic teams in the state had earlier launched the names of a few of the 151 occupied villages.
Similarly, the individuals of Tiv resident in the United States of America below the aegis of the Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA) had written a petition to the House of Representatives, alleging that herdsmen had been taking on and renaming the ancestral lands deserted by Tiv individuals sacked in components of Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states.
With these allegations, safety analysts say the safety companies mustn’t feign ignorance of the identities and places of the attackers.
At a press convention held on October 21, 2026 on the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, Christian leaders representing indigenous youth organisations in Plateau State below the aegis of the Coalition of Plateau Indigenous Youth Nationalities (CPIYN) had referred to as for an investigation into allegations of attainable collaboration between particular person safety personnel and armed bandits terrorising their communities.
The President of the Irigwe Youths Movement, Ezekiel Peter Bini, is the Chairman of the coalition.
Other signatories embody: President of the Berom Youths Moulder-Association, Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri; President of the Tarok Progressive Youths Association, Ambassador Miri Timnan Nyantau; and President of the Mwagavwul Youths, Jonathan Kyesmang Yusuf.
The coalition accused safety authorities of failing to adequately shield susceptible communities from armed assaults.
The group insisted on the continuation of joint safety operations towards armed teams.
The response of the group was in response to a petition dated October 5, 2026, by Fulani organisations which claimed that joint safety operations performed by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Mobile Police Force, and Operation Rainbow had been biased towards Fulani communities.
The Coalition of Plateau Indigenous Youth Nationalities condemned the petition, arguing that it may undermine safety operations in communities which have skilled repeated assaults.
There has been a sustained sample of lethal violence in the state, the place predominantly Christian farming communities have suffered assaults by armed militants and different unidentified gunmen.
The assertion by the coalition described a sample in which armed males allegedly transfer cattle into farming communities, destroy crops, and assault settlements with none commensurate response by safety operatives.
The coalition stated it had documented at the very least 152 hamlets, villages, and communities affected by such incidents.
It condemned the calls for of the Fulani leaders that joint operations must be discontinued.
While insisting that safety operations shouldn’t be discontinued, the coalition credited joint operations involving the DSS, Mobile Police, Operation Rainbow, and native safety volunteers with arrests and a discount in mass assaults and crop destruction.
Several communities looking for justice consider that these chargeable for killings haven’t been arrested and prosecuted due to alleged collaboration between some particular person safety operatives and the rampaging killers.
According to numerous social media accounts, the latest conflict between troopers and policemen in Plateau State occurred after operatives of one of many safety forces had been allegedly discovered in the midst of the attackers.
In the assertion issued by the Joint Task Force, Operation Enduring Peace, the army cited a viral video displaying an encounter between its troops and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in Bassa LGA.
According to the assertion issued by its Media Information Officer, Captain Chinonso Oteh, the troops had been responding to a misery name over sporadic gunfire and the killing of a resident when the encounter with the police personnel occurred.
According to the assertion, on October 20, 2026, troops of Sector 3, Operation Enduring Peace, acquired a misery name reporting sporadic gunfire in Mai Farin Moto, Maraban Dere and adjoining communities in Bassa, alongside studies of the killing of 1 Adamu Suleiman.
The activity power stated the troops had been deployed to assess the safety scenario, set up the circumstances surrounding the incident, stop escalation and shield lives and property.
“On arrival, the troops sought to interact the police personnel working in the realm to make clear the scenario and facilitate a coordinated safety response.
“Regrettably, the interaction was characterised by a lack of cooperation from some personnel, despite efforts to de-escalate tensions and maintain operational discipline”, the assertion stated.
While urging the members of the general public and media practitioners to chorus from disseminating unsubstantiated accounts able to undermining public confidence or disrupting relations amongst safety companies, the assertion was nevertheless silent on the allegations that particular person operatives of an company had been collaborating with the bandits.
The clarification that some personnel failed to cooperate with out giving particulars of the affected company and personnel raised additional speculations.
Victims of insecurity have all the time alleged collaboration between bandits and a few particular person safety operatives, who’re benefiting from insecurity which have claimed the lives of gallant members of the safety companies.
The federal authorities ought to examine and discover out if the latest conflict between the 2 forces had any hyperlink with such alleged collaboration. The conflict shouldn’t be allowed to be swept below the carpet.
