By Sar Terver
Fear and uncertainty have engulfed many communities in Plateau State in recent days as rumours swirl that soldiers have been withdrawn from vulnerable rural areas even as insecurity escalates.
The concern is heightened by a horrifying parallel: in Kebbi State, troops reportedly left a girls’ school just minutes before bandits struck, abducting dozens of students, according to the governor of the state, Nasir Idris.
In Plateau, a preacher, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, a prominent voice among Christian communities, renewed warnings of a security collapse.
In a viral video he posted on social media, he alleged that troops had been pulled out from parts of the state, leaving communities “wide open” to attacks by armed militias.
According to the cleric, the withdrawal has emboldened “imported terrorists”, mainly Fulani militia from neighbouring states, who, he said, have established camps along Plateau’s border and are “gradually advancing” into native communities.
He urged Christians across Nigeria and the world to pray, arguing that spiritual intervention was more potent than weaponry: “Your prayer is more than AK–47s,” he said in the video.
The danger posed by such claims becomes evident when measured against recent events in Kebbi. At Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, soldiers reportedly withdrew from their post around 3:00 a.m., only for armed bandits to strike approximately 45 minutes later, abducting 25 schoolgirls and killing a vice-principal, making governor Idris to demand a full probe to answer who ordered the withdrawal and why, especially after prior warnings and intelligence alerts about a planned attack on the school.
In Plateau, a journalist familiar with security operations, who asked for anonymity, said he had heard similar reports of troop movements, but was unable to confirm concrete details. He speculated the withdrawal could be part of a routine rotation or redeployment, though that offers little comfort to anxious residents who feel abandoned.
Efforts by our reporter to independently verify whether troops have indeed been withdrawn en masse from rural Plateau communities proved unsuccessful as phone calls to Gen. Gakji Shipi, the special adviser to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, were not picked for two days.
The implications of a genuine withdrawal or even credible rumours of one, are chilling. The Kebbi school attack remains a fresh wound on the national conscience. It exposed the deadly vulnerability of soft targets when security forces vanish at a critical hour.
For Plateau, a repeat of such a collapse could mean a large number of displacement, renewed waves of violence, and further erosion of public trust in institutions meant to protect civilians.
For residents already grappling with loss and trauma, the question is, if the military cannot guarantee protection, who will? And how many more lives will be lost before authorities face the consequences of unchecked insecurity?
