Johnstone Kpilaakaa

Nigeria

Journalist at Freelance

Sub-Editor at HumAngle

sub-editor @HumAngle_ • alum: @SMC_PAU • catholic

Articles

What Life Could Have Been for Leah Sharibu at 22

3 weeks ago | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

It’s May 14, so she posts a birthday photo on Instagram: a selfie in scrubs after a long hospital shift, or maybe a studio portrait with balloons and a caption: “Grateful for 22.”In the portrait, her hair is curled softly around her face, her gentle smile lighting up the frame. Friends flood the comments section with heart emojis and warm wishes. At home, her mum bakes her favourite cake in white and black; her favourite colours. Her dad says a quiet prayer, blessing her for the year ahead.
Books Set Him in Motion. So He Wrote One.

1 month ago | joeyoffair.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

An object will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force. This is Newton’s First Law of Motion—and for Lengdung Tungchamma, it’s not just a principle of physics. It’s the story of his life, told in Motion, his forthcoming memoir. His story begins in Jenta Mangoro, a slum community in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria, where he grew up at No. 16 C Avenue. His mother, a vibrant and generous businesswoman, believed in cooking more than enough food for her family.
Zike Tragedy: Survivors Mourn, Counting Lives Lost in Plateau Attack

1 month ago | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

It was a calm night until just before midnight. And when Mary John had dinner and shared tales by moonlight with her children and grandchildren that Sunday evening, she thought what would follow was sleep and farm work the next morning. Mary said she heard the first gunshots pierce through the silence. âBefore we could go out, the house was already surrounded,â she said. She lives in a modest zinc-roofed mud house with three bedrooms and a sitting room.
Over 40 Killed in Overnight Attack on Plateau Community

1 month ago | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

At least 40 people have been killed after armed men stormed Zike community in the Kwall district of Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, in North-central Nigeria. The brutal assault began shortly after midnight on Monday, 14 April, and lasted nearly two hours, leaving dozens dead, homes in ruins, and survivors in mourning. Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Youth Movement (IYM), a local youth organisation, confirmed the incident to HumAngle.
Arise and Walk: A Ministry’s Mission to Mend Limbs and Doctrine in Nigeria

2 months ago | joeyoffair.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

MIANGO, PLATEAU STATE—In 2014, Jeff Arnette, a US Army veteran, Christian missionary, and prosthetist, travelled to Nigeria with plans to establish a prosthetics programme through a missionary organisation he was consulting for. The goal was to serve vulnerable communities affected by conflict in the West African nation. However, a logistical setback delayed the mission. What was meant to be a brief shipping delay stretched into weeks. Arnette, however, viewed it as divine providence.
Many Killed in Renewed Attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State

2 months ago | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

The gunshots began without warning. Residents of several villages and hamlets in the Manguna and Daffo districts of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, North-central Nigeria, scrambled for cover as armed men stormed their villages, shooting indiscriminately. By the time the chaos subsided, many lay dead, others were wounded, and several had fled their homes.
Mob Violence Soars in Nigeria as Northern Travellers are Killed in South-South

2 months ago | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

Several travellers were killed and many others injured in a mob attack by a local vigilante group and residents of Udune Efandion in Edo State, South-South Nigeria, on Friday, March 28. The vigilantes, profiling the northern Nigerian travellers as kidnappers or members of a violent group, intercepted and attacked them.
#HumAngleAt5: Five HumAngle Alumni Share Their Journeys in the Newsroom

Mar 8, 2025 | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

When terrorists stormed Federal Government College (FGC) Birnin Yauri, North West Nigeria, on 17 June 2021 and kidnapped 89 students, Umar Aminu Yandaki‚ÄĒthen a reporter at HumAngle‚ÄĒwas among the few journalists who covered the crisis extensively. ‚ÄúThe Editor-in-Chief believed I was the best person to report the story,‚ÄĚ said Yandaki, who considers Birnin Yauri his second home. He travelled to the community, investigated the events in depth, and even spoke to some of the girls in captivity.
From Crisis to Solutions: HumAngle’s Impact on Accountability and Peacebuilding in Nigeria

Mar 7, 2025 | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

When HumAngle launched five years ago, the mission was simple: “to investigate and report how violent conflicts affect everyday people and find [and document] solutions to insecurity across the country and Africa at large.” As HumAngle engaged with communities, the organisation realised that the true power of information lies in using it to bridge the gaps it exposes. Often, this happens through advocacy.
‘We Survived’: Benue Varsity Students Regain Freedom After a Week in Captivity

Mar 6, 2025 | humanglemedia.com | Johnstone Kpilaakaa

Three students of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (JOSTUM), formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Benue State, North-central Nigeria, have regained their freedom after spending a week in captivity. They were released on the evening of Wednesday, March 3, according to multiple sources.