Defending innocent Sokoto travellers in the spirit of national unity
By Lawal Jet Kaugama
In recent days, social media has once again demonstrated its power to inflame public opinion faster than facts can emerge. A viral report alleging that some travellers from Sokoto State were “fleeing terrorists” arrested in Ondo State created anxiety, suspicion and unnecessary tension across the country. However, emerging facts and official engagements have clearly shown that the allegation was false, unsubstantiated and unfair to innocent Nigerian citizens whose only offence was travelling outside of their own geographical zone.
From all indications, the travellers in question were arrested by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, near a forest area where a monarch had been killed sometime ago. While security agencies are justified in exercising vigilance, especially in times of rising insecurity, vigilance must not replace verification, nor should suspicion be elevated to conviction in the court of public opinion.
Crucially, even the Amotekun Commander reportedly stated that the travellers were arrested near a forest, not inside it, and not in the act of committing any crime. The leap from proximity to a crime scene to branding people as “fleeing terrorists” is not only dangerous but undermines the principles of justice, fairness and national cohesion.
More importantly, sustained engagement between Sokoto State Government officials, the Sokoto Diaspora community in Ondo (SDS Ondo), and the Ondo State Amotekun Command has now confirmed what many far thinking Nigerians already suspected: the travellers were innocent.
After due profiling, investigation and confirmation, they were released, having been found not to be terrorists, criminals or security threats of any kind. This development deserves prominence, not as an afterthought buried beneath sensational headlines, but as the central truth of the matter.
It is commendable that the Sokoto State Government, under the calm and responsible leadership of Gov. Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto, responded with maturity rather than rhetoric. At no point did the governor’s administration resort to inflammatory language or ethnic profiling. Instead, it chose dialogue, engagement and institutional communication; the hallmarks of responsible governance in a diverse federal setting.
Gov. Aliyu has consistently demonstrated that security management requires both firmness and fairness. His administration has invested in peacebuilding, inter-state cooperation and respect for constituted authorities, while remaining firm in protecting the dignity and rights of Sokoto citizens wherever they may be found. This measured response prevented what could have escalated into unnecessary inter-communal tension.
Equally important is the need to reaffirm a simple but often ignored truth: Sokoto people are not terrorists. Sokoto State, the Seat of the Caliphate, has for centuries been a symbol of scholarship, religious tolerance, commerce and peaceful coexistence. The overwhelming majority of its people are law-abiding Nigerians engaged in legitimate pursuits, trading, farming, learning and public service, across every part of the country.
To continue to allow unfounded stereotypes to define entire communities is to do the work of extremists for them. Terrorism has no ethnicity, no state of origin and no religion. Criminals exist everywhere, and they must be confronted individually, based on evidence, not assumptions.
The Ondo State authorities, particularly Amotekun, deserve credit for eventually doing the right thing by subjecting the travellers to proper verification and releasing them once their innocence was established. However, this incident should serve as a learning point: public communication matters.
Labels, once released into the digital space, are difficult to retrieve. Reputations can be damaged long before clarifications are issued.
Nigeria’s security challenges demand cooperation, intelligence sharing and professionalism, not sensationalism.
As citizens increasingly move across states for trade, education and social reasons, security agencies must strike a careful balance between alertness and restraint.
At a time when the nation is seeking unity amid diversity, incidents like this test our collective commitment to fairness. The peaceful resolution of this matter, facilitated by dialogue between Sokoto stakeholders and Ondo security officials, should be encouraged and institutionalised.
In the end, the release of the travellers is not just a victory for them as individuals; it is a victory for justice, for responsible leadership, and for the idea that Nigeria must not descend into a country where movement becomes criminalised by suspicion.
Governor Aliyu’s calm stewardship and the dignified conduct of the Sokoto people throughout this episode reinforce one clear message: peace, not prejudice, must guide our national journey forward.
Lawal Jet Kaugama, a commentator on national issues, write from Kano