• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Tinubu Jets to Brazil After Japan Summit, Eyes Trade, Security Deals

      Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi (MFR), hosted the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji,

      Customs and the “National Single Window” Project

      FG Earmarks N13bn to Boost Power Infrastructure in Lagos, Ogun

      Centre for Crisis Communication, CCC,

      CCC Reviews Keyamo’s Crisis Management in Aviation Disputes

      NITDA Applauds Tech Giants for Advancing Online Safety in Nigeria

  • National
    • FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws

      ACF

      ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

      Saudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in Kano

      Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa

      CDS Musa Charges Citizens to Learn Combat Skills for Self-Defence

      Counter-Terrorism: ​MNJTF, OPHK Commanders Assess Lake Chad Operations

    • Government
      • FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws

        Saudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in Kano

        FG Subsidises Dialysis Cost to N12,000, Says Northwest Not Excluded

        Ibrahim Yahaya Dandakata of Arewa Economic Forum AEF

        Arewa Economic Forum Alleges Targeted Removal of NTA Chief, Calls for…

        NCAA

        NCAA Bans “Flight Mode,” Orders Phones Switch Off During Plane Take-Off,…

  • Security
    • CP Jimoh Moshood

      Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis

      ACF

      ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

      Nigerian Navy Personnel

      Navy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues…

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      Police Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue…

      Anambra Police Nab Suspected Vandals, Recover Transformer Parts, High-Tension Cables

  • Features
    • The Arrest of Ansaru Kingpins Mahmud Muhammad Usman aka Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri aka Mallam Mamuda

      Ribadu and the fall of Ansaru By Senator Iroegbu

      Fixing the Fault Lines in Nigeria’s Culture of Recognition, By Mukhtar…

      How Desperation Turns Nigerian Job Seekers Into Scam Targets By Tahir…

      Festus Keyamo Aviation Minister

      Rebuilding Trust in Nigeria’s Aviation Through Crisis Communication, By Mukhtar Ya’u…

      President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

      Citizen’s Diary: The message from the South-East to President Tinubu, by…

  • State
    • CP Jimoh Moshood

      Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis

      ACF

      ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

      Nigerian Navy Personnel

      Navy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues…

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      Police Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue…

      Military Troops in Action

      Troops Eliminate 2 Top ISWAP Commanders, Others in Borno

  • Event
    • President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

      His Death is a National Loss, Tinubu Mourns Emir of Zuru

      Umar Lauya

      Umar Lauya Declares Candidacy for NYCN Presidency, Vows to Unite and…

      The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Department Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin (L), with the CEO of Legacy Sugar Company, Alh. Abubakar Isa Musa (R), during the signing ceremony.

      NSDC, New Operators Seal Landmark Development Agreements, to Produce 400,000MT of…

      Regional Vice President Western and Central Africa at the World Bank, Mr Ousmane Diagana pays a courtesy visit to Baze University

      World Bank Vice President visits Baze University, Commends Educational Standards, Assures…

      NIPR President Ike Neliaku and a recently inducted PR professional from Kano

      PHOTOS: NIPR Inducts 80 New PR Professionals in Kano to its…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Features Soludo and Radda’s Candid Confessions on Homegrown Terror By Tahir Ahmad
  • Features
  • Security
  • State

Soludo and Radda’s Candid Confessions on Homegrown Terror By Tahir Ahmad

By
Prnigeria
-
July 11, 2025
Governor Charles Soludo and Governor Dikko Radda
Governor Charles Soludo and Governor Dikko Radda

Soludo and Radda’s Candid Confessions on Homegrown Terror By Tahir Ahmad

While scrolling through my Facebook feed recently, a headline gave me pause: “Igbo criminals, not Fulani herdsmen, behind South-East killings.” It wasn’t a clickbait caption or the rant of a fringe commentator. It was a statement by a sitting governor—Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State—captured in a viral video clip.

Shocked by this unexpected candour, I soon came across another jarring report: “90% of bandits terrorising Katsina live among us – Governor Radda.” Two governors, from opposite ends of the country, confronting a shared truth. Not pointing fingers outward, but inward.

Governor Soludo made his remarks during a town hall meeting in Maryland, USA, where he addressed Ndi Anambra in the diaspora. While presenting his three-year stewardship, he declared that 99.99 percent of those arrested for kidnappings, killings, and other violent crimes in Anambra—and across the South-East—were Igbos. Not Fulani herdsmen, as the dominant narrative often suggests.

In a country where “killer herdsmen” has become a convenient label, this wasn’t just bold—it was a direct challenge to a culture of scapegoating. Soludo wasn’t absolving others; he was urging his people to confront uncomfortable realities. He asked us to stop cloaking our wounds in someone else’s skin.

One phrase from his speech stuck with me: these criminals often call themselves “liberators.” I had to look it up again. A liberator, by definition, is one who frees others from oppression. The irony of self-proclaimed liberators who burn homes, take lives, and demand ransoms from grieving families is chilling.

Interestingly, Soludo’s truth-telling found resonance far from the South-East. In a television interview, Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State made a similarly unsettling confession: that the majority of bandits terrorising his state were not foreign elements but local men. “They are not aliens,” he said. “We know their fathers and their grandfathers. They are living with us.”

Governor Radda acknowledged that operational control rests with federal agencies, but his administration has taken proactive steps. Through a local security initiative, youths from affected areas are being recruited to help gather intelligence and assist in anti-bandit operations. The logic is clear: these young men know the terrain, the players, and the patterns. Community involvement, the governor stressed, is vital to dismantling the internal support networks that sustain criminality.

Read Also:

  • Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis
  • FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws
  • ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

He described the crisis as one “from within,” highlighting the role of local collaborators, including urban informants who provide intelligence to bandit cells. The image is distressing: the danger is not across borders, but across the street.

All of this reminded me of a principle that has guided my journey in journalism. It’s a lesson I learned early on from our Managing Editor at the PRNigeria Centre, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRaheem—fondly known as Mr. RR. During editorial meetings, he would caution us: “Never fall into the trap of ethnic profiling. Criminals have no tribe. Violence wears no native attire.”

He often said, “You cannot report a story truthfully if you first decide who to blame.” That principle has shaped my perspective. Good journalism isn’t about echoing popular sentiments; it’s about uncovering the truth—even when it’s painful, even when it implicates people who look like us or live among us.

Because when we tag an entire group based on the actions of a few, we are not informing—we are inciting. It may drive web traffic and stoke outrage, but it also deepens the divisions that threaten our nation’s very foundation.

The real question we must grapple with is this: how do we reconcile with the fact that those who inflict terror on our people may be our own sons, neighbours, and kin?

The messages from Governors Soludo and Radda are clear and courageous. They remind us that the so-called outsiders we often blame are, in fact, our own. That truth is uncomfortable, but necessary. These are the conversations we need to have—beyond the noise, beyond politics, and beyond the veil of ethnic bias.

Their remarks, whether embraced or rejected by the public, demand a reckoning. We cannot keep outsourcing blame while ignoring the rot within. We cannot confront insecurity with narratives built on fear or prejudice. We must face the truth—especially when it sounds like our own name.

Every ethnic group has criminals. Every community harbours both saints and sinners. Our collective task—whether as journalists, public officials, or ordinary citizens—is to learn how to tell the difference.

Let us stop dressing tribal prejudice as national concern. Let us stop recycling myths just because they are familiar or comforting. Nigeria does not need more scapegoats. What it needs—desperately—is honesty, accountability, and the courage to confront ourselves.

And sometimes, all it takes is one leader, or one journalist, willing to speak the truth others won’t.

Tahir Ahmad writes from the PRNigeria Centre, Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected].

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Anambra State
  • Governor Dikko Umar Radda
  • Katsina State
  • Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo
  • South-East killings
Previous articleRat Story Was a Smokescreen to Divert Attention from Buhari’s Health – Garba Shehu Reveals
Next articleTroops Bust IPOB/ESN Logistics Network, Arrest Informants in Southeast — DHQ
Prnigeria
Prnigeria

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

CP Jimoh Moshood

Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis

ACF

ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

Nigerian Navy Personnel

Navy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues Trafficking Victims

Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

Police Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue to Boost Security

Anambra Police Nab Suspected Vandals, Recover Transformer Parts, High-Tension Cables

Military Troops in Action

Troops Eliminate 2 Top ISWAP Commanders, Others in Borno

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa

CDS Musa Charges Citizens to Learn Combat Skills for Self-Defence

Counter-Terrorism: ​MNJTF, OPHK Commanders Assess Lake Chad Operations

IGP Kayode Egbetokun Police Boss

Police Partner Experts on Internal Security as IG Inspects Intelligence Facilities in Abuja

Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

Police Chief Rallies Security Experts for Smarter Intelligence Operations

CP Jimoh Moshood

Lagos Police Arrest 5 for Car Theft, Nab Buyer

Gunmen Kill Five in Plateau as Army Moves to Contain Tiv-Fulani Clashes in Taraba

Recent Posts

  • Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis
  • FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws
  • ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North
  • Navy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues Trafficking Victims
  • Police Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue to Boost Security
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with CannabisFG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform LawsACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the NorthNavy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues Trafficking VictimsPolice Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue to Boost SecurityAnambra Police Nab Suspected Vandals, Recover Transformer Parts, High-Tension CablesTinubu Jets to Brazil After Japan Summit, Eyes Trade, Security DealsTroops Eliminate 2 Top ISWAP Commanders, Others in BornoSaudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in KanoCDS Musa Charges Citizens to Learn Combat Skills for Self-DefenceCounter-Terrorism: ​MNJTF, OPHK Commanders Assess Lake Chad OperationsPolice Partner Experts on Internal Security as IG Inspects Intelligence Facilities in AbujaPolice Chief Rallies Security Experts for Smarter Intelligence OperationsLagos Police Arrest 5 for Car Theft, Nab BuyerGunmen Kill Five in Plateau as Army Moves to Contain Tiv-Fulani Clashes in Taraba
X whatsapp