FACT-CHECK: How a man killed in 2023 is now being recycled as a “terror kingpin” in Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
There is something deeply disturbing about the latest circulation of a photograph purportedly showing a suspected “terror kingpin” arrested in Riyom, Plateau State.
The more disturbing issue is that the man Alhaji Adamu Idris Gabdo, the Ardo of Panyam in Mangu Local Government Area, whose photograph appears to have been recycled was himself victim of targeted killing in Plateau. His disappearance, death and recovery of his remains were publicly documented by the Nigerian military in 2023.
Three years after his death, his image is now being dragged back into the security narrative this time apparently as though he were a perpetrator. That is not a harmless mistake.
In a conflict as sensitive as Plateau, turning the photograph of a dead victim into the face of an alleged terrorist can distort the historical record, dishonour the dead and potentially inflame the living.
On September 24, 2023, Adamu Idris Gabdo was reported missing after travelling to Panyam.
His disappearance generated considerable tension because of the already fragile security situation in Mangu. Operation Safe Haven subsequently launched a search operation.
On October 5, 2023, the military announced that its troops had recovered Gabdo’s remains around Boi, along the Pankshin–Bauchi Road in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The remains were handed over to his family for burial.
It referred to him as the late community leader and said the recovery of his remains would enable investigations to identify those responsible for what it described as a heinous crime.
In other words: Gabdo was not identified by the military as an attacker. He was identified as the victim of a killing. The chronology becomes even more important.
On November 8, 2023, the Nigerian Army announced that troops of Operation Safe Haven had arrested Philip Gokas, also known as Jaykimo, in Lagos. The Army described Gokas as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of the late Adamu Idris Gabdo. The Army said the suspect had admitted involvement and was providing information that could assist investigators in apprehending other suspects.
This means that the historical record already contains a very important distinction: Adamu Idris Gabdo = the murdered Ardo of Panyam.
Philip Gokas/Jaykimo = the person the Army announced in 2023 as an alleged mastermind in Gabdo’s murder.
That distinction cannot now be erased by attaching Gabdo’s photograph to an entirely different security narrative three years later.
The September 24, 2026 report that triggered the latest circulation says security sources reported the arrest of a suspected key figure in Riyom. But there is a crucial detail that appears to have been lost in the social-media amplification.
There have been genuine arrests in connection with violence in Plateau.
For example, in August 2026, Plateau police confirmed the arrest of a suspect believed to be linked to the Bi Mper attack in Mangu that killed 25 people. Channels Television reported the police confirmation and noted that investigations were continuing.
Therefore, fact-checking this latest Riyom report does not mean denying that security agencies are conducting operations or making arrests.
Nor does it mean defending anyone suspected of committing violence. The question is much narrower and much more important:
