How a Reverend Was Arrested for Allegedly Supplying Weapons to Bandits in Plateau State
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu — Democracy Newsline Newspaper | 16 November 2025
Nigeria woke up to a startling new twist in its long-running security crisis after security operatives arrested a Christian cleric—a Reverend Father—on allegations of supplying sophisticated weapons to armed bandits operating in Plateau State and surrounding areas.
The shocking arrest has further exposed the complex layers of criminality troubling the country, challenging long-held assumptions that insecurity is driven solely by religious identity.
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According to early security reports, investigators uncovered evidence suggesting that the Reverend had been coordinating the movement of high-grade weapons, allegedly supporting violent groups responsible for kidnappings, raids on rural communities, and the killing of innocent citizens.
For years, Nigerians have argued over whether the nation’s worsening insecurity is tied to religion. Those who insisted that the violence had no religious roots were often accused of defending one side or the other. Yet, this arrest is now raising serious questions:
If a respected clergyman—known for prayers, peace advocacy, and community protection—can be linked to supplying instruments of death, what then becomes of the narrative that insecurity belongs to any one religion?
The development is also a test for international commentators who frequently portray Nigeria’s crises as “genocide against Christians.” Will they carry this latest story to political figures like Donald Trump to balance their narrative?
Security agencies maintain that crime in Nigeria has no religious uniform, It does not wear a rosary or a cross,
It does not carry a Qur’an or a Bible and It hides in forests, buys weapons, spills blood, and attacks Muslims, Christians, and all Nigerians alike.
Yet, whenever painful truths are spoken, reactions are often emotional rather than factual. This arrest, analysts say, reveals three important realities, Nigeria’s insecurity challenge is criminal, not religious, Criminals exist everywhere — in churches, in mosques, and outside both,
The fight must be against the perpetrators, not against entire religious communities.
If a Reverend Father can be arrested for allegedly arming bandits, then Nigeria’s security crisis is far more complicated and far greater than any one-sided narrative of persecution.
The nation, observers argue, must call things by their proper name.
The focus should be on fixing security — not politicising it, not turning it into a religious debate, and not seeking sympathy from foreign governments.
