Bus Rams Easter Procession Leaving Five Dead in Gombe; Police Report Disputed by Victims and Bystanders

Sadly, it now looks like the truck accident in Gombe was no accident.  One theory is that the message the terrorists project to allies is that massacres can now be done with impunity. The following is a press release from Gombe Christians.

SEPARATING FACTS FROM FICTION: What Really Happened in Billiri on Monday 21/04/2025.

A Press Release on the Billiri Easter Massacre.
By the Gombe South Emancipation Forum (GSEF)

There are a lot of lies, misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation surrounding the incident on Easter Monday that claimed five precious lives of our young people and maimed at least twenty others. Unfortunately, this onslaught on the truth is coming from institutions that were supposed to be trustworthy, fair, unbiased, and professional in all their dealings and operations. Having done an extensive research on this issue in the last two dozen hours, it has become necessary for us to tell the world the truth of what happened in Billiri. We live in an era of information war. We therefore want to set the record straight, for if we don’t tell the world what actually happened people may believe the lies and the misinformation of the Gombe State Police Command and some media stations such as the Daily [Mis]Trust.

In its effort to engage this epistemological battle, the Gombe South Emancipation Forum (GSEF) interviewed several eyewitnesses, medical personnel, community leaders, security officers, and some of the victims themselves. The following is a summary of our findings along with our observations and interpretations of the situation.

1. In the early morning hours of Monday 21 April 2025 many Christians in Billiri and its environs went up a hill outside of town to commemorate the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ the saviour of the world. This is an annual event that has been going on for almost 30 years now.
2. At around a few minutes after 6am the people started moving down to town, singing, dancing, and rejoicing along the Billiri-Kaltungo road. It has always been the practice that whenever a vehicle comes along, the people will part ways for that vehicle to pass. Before the terrible incident happened that same morning, dozens of vehicles including trucks had passed and on every occasion the people gave way for the vehicles to pass.
3. At around 6:30am a vehicle ran into a man and his daughter on a motorcycle, who were coming from the Easter service on the hill. This first incident happened at the entrance to the Federal Government College, Billiri. The young girl sustained some injuries and her leg was bandaged to reduce bleeding. Her dad took her away for medical attention.
4. Not long after that incident, another vehicle, an 18 wheeler truck (trailer) came running towards the direction of the last group of the Christians who had now reached the “Tashan Gona” junction. The trailer was fully loaded with grains. Some individuals quickly waved to the driver and told him to slow down and to honk his horn when he gets close to the group so they can give him way to pass. The driver slowed down as he listened to them. He was moving at around 10-15 kilometres per hour. But as soon as he saw the crowd ahead of him, he increased his speed and ran into the group from behind them without ever honking his horn. He mowed several people killing five, and injuring several others.

There is a video of this incident that clearly shows what the driver did. He did not swerve, nor did he decelerate to avoid killing people. Immediately after mowing the people however, the truck came to an immediate stop, indicating a clear use of brakes. It is our observation here that there is no way an 18 wheeler truck filled with grains and accelerating over the speed limit on a sloppy road would halt immediately just because it went over a group of people. That would be incongruent with the laws of physics.

5. The total number of our Christian brothers and sisters killed is five. Two died instantly, one died while she was being rushed to the hospital, and two others passed away at the hospital. More than thirty people sustained various levels of injuries. Some of these young people are permanently maimed and their lives will not remain the same. Eleven of them are receiving medical care at the Specialist Hospital Gombe, nine are at the Federal Medical Center Gombe, and seventeen went back home after receiving first aid treatment.
6. After running into the group the driver stopped the vehicle, ran towards the police who were watching the incident in real time but did not lift a hand to help any of the victims. The police officers quickly put the driver in their vehicle and drove away with him, leaving behind them both dead and live bodies trapped under the loaded trailer of the driver.
7. Rejoicing and dancing had now turned into weeping and wailing. The young people came to the rescue of their loved ones and tried to remove them from under the heavy vehicle. Those who were still alive were rushed to the General Hospital Billiri for emergency treatment but there were no any emergency items and medication (drugs) at the hospital. The hospital pharmacy itself was closed and there was no one on duty. The volunteer medical workers who were there had to get the emergency drugs and items from a nearby pharmacy, which we later learned was paid by Senator Siyako Yaro, the law maker representing Gombe South. He was at the hospital to visit the victims.
8. At this point the youths were frustrated and aggrieved. They set the truck ablaze. They also marched to the police station to demand for justice. When the police saw them coming they began to teargas them and the young people responded by throwing stones at the police. The police arrested eight of the young people while at the same time shielding the perpetrator of the hideous act, the truck driver.

Our Observations and Concerns

1. The Gombe State Police Command Press Release: Our first concern is with the press release by the Gombe State Police command. We as a community are disappointed in the police command as its account does not reflect the reality of what happened. We hereby point out the following misinformation and disinformation in the police’s report. First, the police say that the incident happened due to break failure. But eyewitness reports indicate otherwise. Also, isn’t it a mystery that this break did not fail at any of the several very steep slopes along Yola-Gombe road but waited until it reached Billiri town, right behind Christian faithfuls who are exercising their constitutional right to assembly, and at an area that is not very sloppy, before itfinally fails? If there was break failure, why didn’t the driver honk his horn to alert everyone along his path? Like the Hausa proverb says, “Akwai lauje a cikin nadi.” Second, the police say that “The vehicle veered off the road and tragically ran into the crowd.” This is false as the video shows. The driver drove straight into the group of people who are singing and dancing.

Third, the Gombe State Police Command added a religious colouration to the situation when it writes that those affected included “Some Muslim residents who were observing from the roadside.” This is a lie. The Muslims in Billiri are our family members, friends, and neighbours, but to this day we have not yet heard of any single Muslim who was hurt or directly affected by the incident. We have a comprehensive list of all the people who were hurt at the scene and none of these people is a Muslim. We therefore demand that the police provide us with names and pictures of those Muslims who were injured. We want to visit them and help them. They are our relatives and neighbours, and Jesus teaches us to love our neighbours. Fourth, according to the police press release, only eight people were injured and are receiving treatment in the hospital. On the contrary, our team visited twenty people who are currently hospitalized in Gombe. We have their complete names and pictures.

2. The Road Safety Corps: Where were the road safety officers in all of this? Were they not supposed to ensure that the road is safe for all road users including motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians? Since this Easter celebration is an annual event known to all security agencies we expect increased operations on this road anytime there is this event. If the security operatives had done their work very well, this dreadful event might have been avoided. We strongly recommend that for all subsequent Easter, Christmas, and Sallah celebrations, the Road Safety and the police officers should control traffic meticulously.
3. The Gombe State Government: We observe that the General Hospital Billiri is almost non-functional. The fact that there were no emergency items and medication including syringes and tetanus vaccines says a lot about the dilapidated nature of the facility. This is the responsibility of the State Government. The government failed us.
4. We demand that our eighth innocent young people that were arrested and detained by the police be released immediately without any conditions .
5. We call on the government to ensure that justice is done. The foundation of every peaceful society is justice.
6. We exhort the Tangale people to remain calm, peaceful, and strong through these trying times.

But we should not be foolish. Connecting the dots is very crucial here. In 2019 a Civil Defence officer deliberately drove his car into a group of boys brigade who were celebrating the Easter in the city of Gombe killing about ten people and injuring over thirty others. During a Christmas celebration in 2024 a truck ran into the crowd and up to fifteen people were injured. Now we see a repeat of this in Billiri. Christians have only two days (not 52), in the entire year when they use the road (not blocking it) for religious purposes, but yet they’re the ones being murdered. Are we to take these as isolated incidents? Are we to be that naive? Well, Jesus teaches us to “Be as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent.”

Our second message comes out tomorrow 24th of April 2025, which will focus on encouraging you the Tangale people as well as all the great people of Gombe South.

May God continue to protect us, fill us with his peace, and give us courage in the face of adversity. Yambu wokku Tangle.

Signed:
Andele Tadi (Lead Voice)
David Yohanna (Research Secretary)
Umar Ahmed (Publicity Secretary)