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Opinion
Opinion
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Perspective, argument, civic debate and public reasoning
The normalization of atrocities on our roads; in the aftermath of the recent massacre of wedding-bound travellers from Zaria in Plateau State, a deeply troubling pattern continues to emerge.
One that reflects the normalization of atrocities committed with chilling impunity.
These are not random acts of violence. They are deliberate, targeted attacks based on identity. And worse, society appears to be moving on each time with little more than temporary outrage.
As a nation, we must ask difficult questions: Why has this form of identity-based violence become so normalized? And why is there silence; if not outright justification, when innocent people are brutalized simply because of who they are or where they come from?
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
A Dangerous Asymmetry in Retaliation Narratives
One glaring aspect of this crisis is the asymmetry in how violence is retaliated or not.
I challenge anyone to name one incident since the 1914 amalgamation where innocent travellers from Plateau State have been targeted in states like Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa, or Borno, simply for being “the other.” There are none.
Yet, across several states in central and northern Nigeria; Taraba, Plateau, Benue, and Kaduna, however, we find countless cases of travellers from other regions or ethnicities being ambushed, maimed, and murdered.
In places like Mambilla, Takum, and Tinno (Taraba), Riyom, Barikin Ladi, Jos, and Mangu (Plateau), Agatu and Makurdi (Benue), and Gonin Gora and Koi (Kaduna), the story repeats itself: buses are stopped, identities demanded, and lives ended, mostly in the most gruesome fashion imaginable.
These actions aren’t random or sudden. They follow a pattern; deliberate, calculated, and deeply structured.
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
What’s most disturbing is not just their frequency or design, but how society now accepts them as routine, turning injustice into something ordinary, almost expected.
No Consequences, No Justice
The reason these crimes continue is simple; there are rarely any consequences. Between 2002 and 2025, thousands of lives have been lost in such identity-based attacks.
Yet how many prosecutions have taken place? How many masterminds have faced justice? In many cases, the attackers are not only known but boast about their crimes online.
Videos and selfies taken during these attacks are sometimes shared on social media, with perpetrators proudly displaying their acts of brutality.
Security agencies often possess clear evidence, yet follow-up investigations are few and far between.
The Eid day massacre in Jos. The genocide in Mambilla. These are not just tragic events; they are open wounds in our national consciousness.
They are testaments to a state that has failed in its most basic responsibility of lives protection.
The Role of Leadership and Dangerous Justifications
What makes this reality even more disheartening is the complicity or silence of some community leaders and politicians.
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
Leadership should be a shield for the innocent, a voice for justice. Instead, we have witnessed instances where leaders justify these atrocities with cold rationalizations.
The Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area, for example, offered a deeply troubling justification for the murder of the Zaria travellers.
Rather than condemning the attack in clear terms, he offered context that sought to shift blame onto the victims.
With a narrative disturbingly similar to that used by those who justify terrorism.
When elected officials begin to rationalize murder, we no longer have a governance problem, but, we have own a moral crisis.
Celebrated Cruelty on Social Media
Perhaps most distressing is the celebration of these attacks on social media platforms. The internet has become a tool not only for spreading hate but for glorifying violence.
Take the screenshot of Kefas Gyang Pam, which went viral just yesterday. His words celebrated the Zaria massacre.
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
In a Facebook group based in Bokkos, comments flowed freely praising the attackers, mocking the victims, and posting images with a grotesque sense of triumph.
This digital applause for murder reflects a society at risk of losing its humanity.
If we cannot collectively mourn innocent lives lost, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, then we have already crossed a dangerous threshold.
The normalization of these atrocities did not happen overnight, as it took years of silence, weak justice systems, and a dangerous culture of “us vs. them” politics.
But if this trend is not reversed, it threatens to unravel the very fabric of our society. Likewises To Address This growing crisis:
Justice must be non-negotiable: Perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or political affiliations.
Community leaders must condemn, not justify: Silence in the face of evil is complicity. Elected officials and traditional rulers must take firm, ethical stands.
Security agencies must act proactively: Intelligence is useless if not followed by decisive action. Preventive security is more powerful than reactive apologies.
Media and civil society must document and amplify: These stories must be told repeatedly, not for vengeance but for justice and prevention.
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
Social media platforms must regulate hate speech and violent content: Glorifying murder should never be acceptable online or offline. (targeted attacks based on identity)
In conclusion, this is no longer just about one attack or one region. It is about the soul of our nation. We cannot allow evil to become ordinary.
We cannot let identity-based killings become part of daily headlines. And we must never accept a reality where people are murdered simply for belonging to a different community.
History will judge us not only for the atrocities we commit, but for those we allow to happen in silence.
The Normalization of Atrocities on Our Roads
