A call for an independent review of Operation Rainbow as allegations of attacks on Fulani communities deepen
By: Zagazola Makama
The Plateau State Government can no longer afford to treat growing allegations of bias, arson and attacks involving personnel of Operation Rainbow as ordinary complaints in a state already trapped in a cycle of communal violence.
The allegations are serious enough to demand an independent investigation because repeated allegations that a security outfit is attacking the very communities it is mandated to protect can rapidly destroy public confidence and deepen an already dangerous conflict into another layer.
Operation Rainbow was created as a state security initiative to support the protection of lives and property and has since undergone substantial expansion. In December 2025, Governor Caleb Mutfwang said the outfit was intended to protect residents regardless of faith or ethnicity and instructed its personnel to respect the law, human rights and civilian engagement. The state has also subjected its personnel to training on standard operating procedures and rules of engagement.
That makes the allegations now being raised particularly disturbing.
There have been previous accusations by some fulani residents of Mangu that Operation Rainbow personnel were involved in extrajudicial killings . The European Union Agency for Asylum documented those allegations in its review of the Plateau security situation. Operation Rainbow denied similar allegations in 2024, describing them as false and misleading.
The fact that the allegations have been denied does not make them irrelevant. Nor does the fact that they have been made make them proven.
That is precisely why there must be an independent investigation.
According to accounts from Fulani residents in some affected communities, there is now a growing perception that Operation Rainbow is not being seen as a neutral security presence.
One Fulani community leader alleged that residents came under heavy fire from personnel they initially believed had arrived to protect them. According to his account, the residents were caught off guard when the security personnel allegedly opened fire, resulting in several deaths and forcing others to flee for safety.
The allegations of arson are even more troubling
There are also allegations from Fulani residents that Operation Rainbow personnel have, in some instances, been involved in the burning of homes or property belonging to members of their communities. If established, such conduct would represent an extraordinary breach of the basic purpose of a security organisation.
A security officer who participated in burning the home of a civilian is not protecting that civilian. A security officer who attacks an unarmed community is not restoring peace.
And a security formation that is perceived to punish an entire community because of the alleged actions of individuals risks becoming another source of insecurity.
There are thousands of security personnel and community-based operatives across Plateau. Many may be performing difficult and dangerous duties in communities where attacks occur with little warning. Indeed, Operation Rainbow personnel themselves have also been attacked: a senior officer of the outfit was killed in an ambush along the Bokkos–Barkin Ladi axis on Sept. 22, according to reports.
That reality makes accountability even more important.
Security personnel deserve protection. Civilians deserve protection. Both cannot be protected by allowing allegations of abuse to remain unresolved. Plateau cannot fight an insurgency of mistrust The greatest danger is not simply what happened during any single alleged operation. It is what happens afterward.
When a Fulani community believes that the security forces have come to attack rather than protect it, residents may stop providing intelligence.