Uromi killings will remain with us. It will last some uncomfortable period of time. No matter how they choose to label it. Not even how strenuous they labour to dump it in their filthy dustbin. The harder they strive to bury it. The more hard facts, stark details keep propping up.
The Kano “hunters” consumed by Edo State forest in Uromi, Esan North LG still on our mind. They did not just run into vigilante “ambush.” The fresh details:
They left their Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, base, very early. That was on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. And moved past Asaba, Delta State. Driving through Agbor, they crossed to Edo. They headed straight to Ubiaja.
But they made their lifetime blunder here. They were flagged down by Ubiaja vigilantes. For the best reason known to them, they ignored the vigilantes. And sped past them. That raised a genuine suspicion. The vigilantes tried to stop the truck. They failed.
They refused to give up on the danger. Past experiences played a vital role. And they put them into a good use. There was no time to waste at this critical moment. They did the needful. They sent an alarm to their colleagues in Uromi. It was more than a Save Our Souls (SOS)! It was between life and death.
They gave the graphic details of the hunters’ truck. It must be tracked down. By all means possible! Or… The Uromi vigilantes did not miss the message. They would not allow that to happen. They swore. And were prepared to walk their talk.
At 1:30 pm or thereabout, the “hunters” truck did show up. It fitted the precise description from Ubiaja perfectly. They instantly blocked the ravaging truck. Expectedly. They were livid and agitated.
The temperature became extremely hot. And that raised the tension to high heavens. Accusations and counter accusations rent the dusty air. Altercations flew recklessly and seamlessly. And the rest is history. It’s pathetic, tragic!
And because their “hunters” were the victims in Uromi. They would want us to view it from their own exclusive perspective. Any other is “bigotry and ethnocentrism.” Anyone who dares not to agree with their “perfect” thought process is an “ethnocentric bigot.”
Such character, by their reasoning is only dishing out “false narrative rooted in bigotry.” They erroneously dub it “propaganda journalism.” Whatever that is meant to mean to them.
So be it with Idris Muhammed Abdullahi. This is how he chooses to respond to my column: “Kano hunters in the belly of Edo forest.” It was published last week, Daily Sun, Thursday, April 3, 2023.
I picked it from a WhatsApp platform and ran it the as it came: “raw.” He dared me to publish it. And I obliged him to satisfy his curiosity.
Published as received. It’s an unusual delight. Have a bite:
TALKBACK
A rejoinder to your bigotry and ethnocentrism: In response to Femi Adeoti’s column: “In the belly of Edo forest.”
By Idris Muhammed Abdullahi
The piece titled “In the belly of Edo forest” by Femi Adeoti is a textbook display of ethnocentric prejudice, marinated in sweeping generalisations and simmering with contempt for a particular demographic. It trades in dangerous stereotypes, painting an entire ethnic group with the broad brush of criminality while sidestepping the intricate realities and root causes of insecurity in Nigeria. This narrative is not only intellectually shallow—it is deeply corrosive to the fragile threads that hold our national unity together.
A false narrative rooted in bigotry
Adeoti’s piece is laced with a caustic tone, dripping with disdain and revelling in an entrenched worldview that refuses to acknowledge facts beyond its narrow lens. The so-called “hunters” from Kano are instantly branded terrorists, with no effort at verification, investigation, or nuance. This rush to judgment completely abandons the core tenets of justice—chiefly, the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven through due process.
To argue that Northerners cannot traverse Southern forests without nefarious intent is as absurd as it is inflammatory. Hunting is a cultural practice found across Nigeria’s regions and ethnic groups. The claim that no legitimate hunting could occur in the mangrove-dense zones of Rivers or Edo betrays a profound ignorance of the adaptability of traditional hunting methods to varied ecological terrains. Adeoti’s extrapolation of isolated criminal incidents to indict an entire group is an analytical fallacy unworthy of serious discourse.
The fiction of vigilante justice
Even more disturbing is the author’s enthusiastic endorsement of extrajudicial killings, cloaked in the flimsy veil of “credible intelligence” and “self-defence.” He speaks of the killings with a voyeuristic certainty—as though he were a first hand witness—which raises questions about the authenticity and intent behind the narrative.
In any civilised society, suspicion—no matter how strong—cannot substitute for due process. If we normalise jungle justice under the excuse of communal protection, what prevents other regions from adopting the same mob tactics against perceived outsiders? The vigilantism celebrated in the article is not justice; it is lawlessness, a descent into barbarism where mere accusation becomes execution.
The myth of unilateral victimhood
Adeoti’s portrayal of the Fulani as unilateral aggressors and Southern communities as perpetual victims is not only misleading—it is dangerous. Criminality has no ethnic allegiance. Banditry, kidnapping and violent crimes are national scourges committed by individuals from every region. Citing Peter Ogedengbe’s murder without acknowledging the retaliatory and often indiscriminate violence meted out against innocent Northerners—traders, herders, and travellers—exposes a deeply selective memory.
Where is the outrage for Northern victims of ethnic violence? Do their lives not matter simply because they do not fit a preferred victim narrative?
Governance and the weaponisation of ethnicity
The attack on Governor Monday Okpebholo for extending condolences and compensation to bereaved families from the North underscores the dangerous politicization of ethnicity. Every citizen, regardless of origin, is entitled to justice and protection. The expectation that Northern leaders should care for their own while Southern leaders remain indifferent to national responsibility is both irrational and divisive.
Governance is not a tribal affair. Justice must be blind to ethnicity, or it is no justice at all.
*A call for intellectual honesty
Adeoti’s column is not an analysis—it is an incendiary manifesto. It exploits legitimate fears and security challenges to fan the flames of ethnic hatred. By justifying mass killings under the guise of communal self-defence, the article abandons the principles of law and order and walks Nigeria toward a perilous future.
To build a safer Nigeria, we must reject these toxic narratives that demonise entire populations. Criminals must be identified and prosecuted individually—not ethnically. Real security solutions come from cooperation, intelligence sharing and the equitable application of justice—not from tribal scapegoating.
Let us call this what it is: propaganda, not journalism.
•Abdullahi is, a political analyst, also serves as a Tax Evasion, Asset Recovery and Proceeds of Crime Investigator for Nigeria
It’s amazing and amusing. The speed by which they disowned the Uromi vigilantes. Just to appease their Fulani overlords. These are the same vigilance groups established by the previous administration. To checkmate terrorists, bandits and kidnappers now turned “hunters.” Courtesy of the elements desperate to change the narratives to suit their hideous motives.
We won’t allow them to fool us. The Amotekun are doing the same great job in South West. And they are being grateful appreciated.
The Kano “hunters” themselves were convinced they were not operating as hunters. Because they were not hunters in the first instance. They only knew how to be effective as terrorists, bandits and kidnappers. They did that to the best of their ability and prowess.
They knew they were deadlier than hunters. The reason they broke through the vigilantes’ barricades in Ubiaja. The same reason they put off stiff resistance in Uromi.
Okay. What were they doing with AK47 rifle? We have to sincerely interrogate all these emerging details. How about the bundles of naira notes found on them? Proceeds of their highly sophisticated hunting expedition, perhaps!
You are bound to be pissed-off; if human blood flows in your veins. When you watch several of these horror thriller video clips. You will be lost in thought and in reasoning.
You see these Fulani herdsmen. Uprooting farmers’ cassava and maize. And feeding them to their cows. And they do it with glee and enthusiasm. Any resistance from the farmer is rewarded with brutal death.
In some obnoxious instances. The farmers are forced to watch their farms being destroyed. Feed their ferocious cattle with the produce. Thereafter, they return to their prey, the farmer. And despicably snuffed life out of him!
Not only that. Their insatiable appetite for blood knows no bounds. They won’t spare his wife and children. They equally fall victims. Right on their farm! Now, what will you call them? Hunters? Bandits? Terrorists?
We are human and humane. They are no other than terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, et cetera. And you will want us to be associated with those deadly species? No. Not at all! Whatever befalls them. We care less, not even a hoot.
Southerners dare not masquerade as “hunters” in the North. That will be asking for too much. It’s nothing but stirring up the hornet’s nest. And no one is prepared for that. Nobody wants to be roasted alive.
Several of these atrocities are perpetrated by alien Fulani in our midst. And our mis-rulers will pretend otherwise. They were imported from neighbouring countries.
Have we forgotten so soon? Our memory shouldn’t be that acutely short. Let’s borrow ourselves some brain. Things nosedived to the worse when the inordinate ambitions of our politicians took the worst parts of them. And ran them crazy.
They placed their parochial, narrow interests far above our collective existence. For the sake of securing temporal power. They pretended to be blind to the dangers of their actions and inactions.
Wicked souls! They feigned all the ignorance they could. And knowingly went outside our shores. To invite calamities as our unwanted guests. They wittingly plunged us into this unending mess.
Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje lent credible credence to it. He told the story vividly. They dare not refute or deny it till date. We’ve challenged them several times over. But they wouldn’t be provoked to repudiate Baraje and his actualities.
He was stubbornly assertive. His claim was fact and not fallacy. It’s believable; for it’s factual. He admitted without prompting. Of how they brought in Fulani militias from other lands to win 2015 elections.
A newspaper report in August 2022: “Abubakar Kawu Baraje, a former chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has traced the origin of the current insecurity in the country to the influx of Fulani from neighbouring countries like Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, Niger and Chad brought into the country for election purposes in 2015.”
The APC feared former President Goodluck Jonathan would not willingly relinquish power. If he lost the election. Then the Fulani mercenaries would be unleashed on us all. Jonathan disappointed them. And there was no fight to fight.
Baraje is Fulani by every inch. And he doesn’t hide it. Yet, he spoke the truth to the throne. He ran back to his People Democratic Party (PDP), after his hellish sojourn in APC.
He was then free and comfortable enough to pure out the manner he poured out. He did it marking his 70th birthday in Ilorin, Kwara State.
He has not swallowed a letter of his words. And the character in him has no intention of doing that. That’s a strong Fulani trait. He displayed it positively here. And deployed it for the good of mankind.
That’s the Fulani character that we know and are familiar with. Not the latter-day terrorists in hunter’s skin. If they had hearkened to his lone voice then. We wouldn’t have been this messed up.
Buhari’s regime flatly rejected his recommended N4billion pay-off to send back the alien Fulani. Immediate past Kaduna State governor, Nasiru El-Rufai was also involved. He was a member of the APC committee that sealed the deal.
Buhari’s rejection infuriated the aliens. They had to make ends meet. They di-invested into uncommon venture. First, they tried their blood-dripping hands on kidnapping. It yielded bountifully for them.
Excited and encouraged. They upped the game to banditry, bloodier. Finally, they settled for terrorism, the bloodiest. They have since made it a lucrative sub-sector of our fragile and stumbling economy.
Great kudos to Baraje for that huge courage and bravery. He spoke out without fear or favour. He damned the consequences. He has not suffered any consequence in that regard. And he won’t.
We need not stress ourselves on nothingness and emptiness. One thing must cave in: Let the Fulani herdsmen, terrorists, bandits and kidnappers stop their atrocities. The “propaganda journalism” Abdullahi so disdainfully detests will cease forthwith.
Why? There will be nothing else to “propagate.” Nothing else to build the jaundiced “propaganda journalism” Abdullahi abhors on. It won’t just stand.
It’s as simple as that. It will end all discussions effortlessly and seamlessly.
Give it a trial. If you can! We would all be glad you did.