In Gombe State, a troubling pattern has emerged over the past six years: trucks and vehicles crashing into Christian religious processions during major celebrations. The first time it happened, it was treated as an isolated tragedy. Then it happened again — and again.
Now, after the third such incident on Easter Sunday this year, questions are intensifying. Are these just unfortunate accidents, or is there a deeper, more disturbing undercurrent? On April 21, 2025, a truck carrying grain ploughed into an Easter procession in Billiri, killing five and injuring up to thirteen. Authorities pointed to brake failure and speeding, and the driver was arrested. But eyewitnesses rejected that explanation. They claimed the truck approached quietly and came to an abrupt halt after impact, describing the act as deliberate. The immediate community reaction was explosive — the truck was torched, shops were looted, and the local police station was attacked.
This latest tragedy followed a December 25, 2024 incident, when a Volkswagen Sharon mini-bus rammed into a Christmas procession in Tumfure. Although no deaths were reported, dozens were injured — with official figures at 22 and CAN reporting up to 65. Again, there were claims of loss of control from authorities, but procession leaders said the driver had ignored attempts to stop and plowed through the crowd before fleeing. The vehicle was set on fire by an angry mob. The first and most chilling incident occurred on April 21, 2019.
An off-duty officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps drove into a group of Boys’ Brigade members during an Easter procession in Gombe, killing between eight and eleven people — most of them children. Witnesses said the driver, after an argument with the group, made a U-turn, switched off his headlights, and deliberately drove into the procession. The aftermath was violent: the driver and a policeman were killed by an outraged crowd, and the state imposed a curfew. While each of these incidents has been reported and investigated individually, the cumulative pattern is what now raises alarms.
Three crashes during Christian celebrations, all involving vehicles driven into crowds. In each case, eyewitnesses dispute official accounts that downplay intent. And in each case, public anger and violent backlash followed. In a country where more than 62,000 Christians have reportedly been killed since 2000, according to watchdog groups, incidents like these do not occur in a vacuum. The repeated trauma has left many in Gombe’s Christian community feeling vulnerable and unheard.
Official explanations — brake failures, driver error, or speed — fail to ease suspicions, especially in the absence of transparent investigations and public accountability. Are these incidents tragic coincidences? Or do they reflect something deeper — systemic negligence, religious intolerance, or even targeted violence? While authorities continue to treat them as isolated, accidental events, many on the ground are no longer convinced. And until those questions are answered with clarity and honesty, distrust and fear will only continue to grow.
