Hausa community gives condition for leaving Jos

State demands release of suspects' file
Igbo want victims' families rehabilitated
From Isa Abdulsalami, Jos



FOR the first time, members of the Hausa community have indicated their intention to leave Jos, the Plateau State capital if they will be given compensation for their property.


http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/13/13.html

The spokesman of youths from eight wards that make up Jos North, Mohammed Bala Tahir, stated this yesterday before the Presidential Panel investigating the November 28, 2008, crisis that followed local council election in the state.

Tahir said: "We want the Plateau State or the Federal Government to evacuate us and take us to any part of the country, provided it will pay us compensation in cash including all our investments and graves of our ancestors and forefathers and mothers buried in Jos or to take Jos back to Bauchi State where we belonged to, but removed from the state by the colonial masters in 1920."

He said they were tired of alleged marginalisation, killings, maiming and destruction of their economies every three, four, five years by the government and "the so-called indigenes of Plateau State."

Tahir, who claimed to be a descendant of a ruler called Sarki Usman who was the seventh Hausa ruler that ruled Jos in the 18th century, blamed security operatives for allegedly taking part in the crisis during which hundreds of innocent Hausa people were alleged to have been killed.

He brought three eyewitnesses who alleged that they were shot by the soldiers in uniform, which led to the amputations of their legs at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital on Saturday morning while they were taking breakfast in their neighbourhood.

The victims said the soldiers opened fire on them, killing eight people while two survived.

Presenting their memorandum before the panel, members of the Coalition of Plateau State Women who were accompanied by the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Mrs. Serah Yusuf, alleged that women were the worst hit by the crisis.

The spokeswoman of the group, Mrs. Martina Kure, identified indigeneship, ownership of Jos, politics, ignorance and unemployment as the major causes of the mayhem. They advised relevant authorities to address the matter in order to have sustainable peace on the Plateau.

Kure said the peaceful coexistence of people on the Plateau has deteriorated as people no longer interact with one another through checking the activities of people who come as strangers to Jos from within and outside the country, taking advantage of water scarcity in the state and serving as water hawkers or commercial motorcycle riders.

In their separate submissions, the spokesman of the Naraguta Community, Isma'ila Shuaibu Abdullahi and Reverend Timothy Abbe, demand compensations for the losses they suffered.

Isma'ila alleged that students of the University of Jos and ex-military men within their neighbouring Anaguta community attacked their community and killed 28 people, burnt their houses and destroyed their property.

Timothy alleged that his house and shop were burnt and destroyed in Nassarawa Gwom. He estimated his loss at N8 million.

On Monday, angered by the delay in prosecuting more than 367 suspects and mercenaries arrested during the crisis, Plateau State Government called for their return to Jos to allow due process of law to take its course.

The suspects arrested along with the 26 mercenaries were transferred to Abuja for further investigation of the allegations against them in the wake of the crisis.

Presenting a memorandum before the Presidential Panel, the state government expressed disappointment that the case diaries of those arrested during the crisis in respect of which investigations were thoroughly carried out by the Plateau State Police Command were later retrieved by the Force Headquarters and never returned.

The Director of Research and Politics, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, who presented the memorandum on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government, Nde Samson Dimka, said to avoid unnecessary suspicion, the files must be returned to the state.

According to him, the distortions were a clear indication that the federal system of government is replete with tendencies towards over-centralisation of power to the detriment of the federating units.

The state government recommended that security agents should conduct a house-to-house search to identify persons in unlawful possession of weapons, with a view to recovering them and prosecuting offenders.

On the alleged shoot-on-sight order by the governor to the security agencies during the crisis, the government stated that it was a concoction of some sections of the media as all the statements of the governor in the course of the crisis were recorded and bear the governor out.

"The governor never made such a statement at any time, before, during and after November 2008 crisis. The statements against the governor were simply fabricated for sheer sentiment," the state government said. It added that the involvement of foreigners in the crisis lends credence to the porosity of Nigerian boarders across the country, urging closer policing to safeguard national security.

In the memorandum submitted by the Igbo Community Association, Jos, the group in its recommendations presented by Chief Onyeka Onyema, said security agencies working in Jos should be made to live up to their responsibilities.

According to them, the Federal Government should be made to pay adequate compensation and rehabilitate the families of persons who lost their lives and property during the mayhem.

However, there was a heated argument between the panel and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, on the need for the creation of state police. While NIPSS presented a position that the state police is very necessary so that they can be under the control of each state government, the panel believed that it would be catastrophic to have a state police in Nigeria.

Presenting the NIPSS position yesterday, Dr. Mark Maduagwu, a fellow with the Institute, submitted that the Federal Government should consider seriously, the suggestion in many quarters for the creation of state police so that state government would have full power to deploy them to quell riots more rapidly.

It was at this juncture that a panel member, Prof. Kharisu Chuckkol, took on Maduagwu on the issue. According to him, if state police is created, the government of a state could theoretically mobilise the police, which will consist of 100 percent of his tribal men or those loyal to it and then attack some other people whose faces it does not like.

"So, the idea of state police, even though on the surface may be good, the kind of danger and other implication which Nigeria should not lose sight of is there," Chukkol added.

But Maduagwu, in his reply, said that regardless of the danger that people have noted in a state police, "the general consensus here in the National Institute is that the possibility of having a state police should be seriously considered in Nigeria. That is the general consensus. There are of course two sides to a coin. Could you believe that the advantages of having a state police may, in the long run, outweigh the disadvantages?"

Maduagwu stated that during the brain-storming session at NIPSS they had also recommended that the Nigerian government should have a clear vision of the Nigerian state and such vision should be understood by all to build a solid democratic culture and sound democratic institutions and processes that would engender peace and harmony.

He also stated that NIPSS recommended that the constitution should be amended to resolve the problem of indigene/settler divide in the spirit of the constitutional provisions that the states should secure full citizenship rights for all citizens in every part of the federation.

NIPSS, according to him, also recommended that civic education should be re-introduced in primary schools in order to inculcate national values, including tolerance, respect for human rights and mutual co-existence into the Nigerian children at early age.

Plateau seeks trial of 367 Jos crisis suspects
From Isa Abdulsalami, Jos

ANGERED by the delay in prosecuting over 367 suspects arrested during the November 2008 Jos crisis, the Plateau State government has called for their return to Jos, Plateau State capital to allow due process of law to take its course.



http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/13/31.html
The over 367 people arrested along with the 26 suspected mercenaries were transferred to Abuja for further investigation of the allegations against them in the wake of the crisis.

Presenting a memorandum before the Presidential Panel of Investigation into the Jos Crisis on Monday, the state government expressed disappointment that those arrested during the crisis in respect of which investigations were thoroughly carried out by the Plateau State Police Command and whose case files were to be handed over to the state Attorney General were later retrieved by the Force Headquarters and never returned.

The Director of Research and Politics, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, who presented the memorandum on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government, Nde Samson Dimka, said to avoid unnecessary suspicion, the files must be returned to the state.

He added that the distortions were a clear indication that the evolution of a federal system was replete with tendencies towards over-centralisation of power to the detriment of the federating units.

The state government recommended that security agents should conduct a house-to-house search to identify persons in unlawful possession of weapons with a view to recovering them and prosecuting offenders.

On the alleged shoot-on-sight order by the governor of the state to security agencies during the crisis, the government stated that it was a fabrication of some sections of the media as all the statements of the governor in the course of the crisis were recorded.

"The governor never made such a statement at any time, before, during and after November 2008 crisis. The statements against the governor were simply fabricated for sheer sentiment," the state government said.

The government added that the involvement of foreigners in the crisis lends credence to the porosity of Nigerian borders across the country, pointing out that the nation's borders require closer policing to safeguard national security.

In the memorandum submitted by the Igbo Community Association, Jos, the body in its recommendations presented by Chief Onyeka Onyema, said security agencies working in Jos, should be made to live up to their responsibilities.

The association further stated that the Federal Government should be made to pay adequate compensation and rehabilitate the families of persons who lost their lives and property during the mayhem.

However, there was a heated argument between the panel and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, on the need for the creation of state police. While NIPSS presented a position that the state police was very necessary so that state police could be under the control of each state government, the panel believed that it would be catastrophic to have a state police in Nigeria.

Presenting NIPSS' position on Monday, Dr. Mark Maduagwu, a fellow with the institute submitted that the Federal Government should consider seriously the suggestion in many quarters for the creation of state police so that state government would have full power to deploy the police to quell riots more rapidly.

It was at this juncture that a panel member, Prof. Kharisu Chuckkol, took Maduagwu up on the issue. According to him, if state police were created, the government of a state could mobilise the police, which would consist of 100 per cent of his tribal men or those loyal to it and then attack some other people it does not like.

"So, the idea of state police, even though on the surface may be good, the kind of danger and other implication which Nigeria should not lose sight of is there," Chukkol added.

But Maduagwu, in his reply, said that regardless of the danger that people have noted in a state police, "the general consensus here in the National Institute is that the possibility of having a state police should be seriously considered in Nigeria. That is the general consensus. There are of course two sides to a coin. Could you believe that the advantages of having a state police may, in the long run, outweigh the disadvantages?"

Maduagwu had stated that during the brain storming session at NIPSS, they had also recommended that the Nigerian government should have a clear vision of the Nigerian state and such vision should be understood by all to build a solid democratic culture and sound democratic institutions and processes that would engender peace and harmony.

He also stated that NIPSS recommended that the constitution should be amended to resolve the problem of indigene/settler divide in the spirit of the constitutional provisions that the states should secure full citizenship rights for all citizens in every part of the federation.

NIPSS, according to him, also recommended that civic education should be re-introduced in primary schools in order to inculcate national values, including tolerance, respect for human rights and mutual co-existence into Nigerian children while they are young.

I pray they will leave soon, Nasarawa state was created from Plateau state because we were hoping most of them would move down there. Hopefully the Igbos will start moving back east too and leave Plateau state for Berum ppl.

OgidiBoy:

I pray they will leave soon, Nasarawa state was created from Plateau state because we were hoping most of them would move down there. Hopefully the Igbos will start moving back east too and leave Plateau state for Berum ppl.

And hopefully you will also find yourself in the plane back to Nigeria and then move to the south east

Tsiya:

And hopefully you will also find yourself in the plane back to Nigeria and then move to the south east

Never!! I'm a plateau state resident

Tsiya:

And hopefully you will also find yourself in the plane back to Nigeria and then move to the south east

Thank you.

Did you see what the guy answered people like omo Ibo?. If they can meet that criteria, all the hausas will leave. I don't understand the rationale behind ' this is our land' in Nigeria. How do you tell an hausa man whose grandparents were born in that land to vacate?. If that is the case, Obama can as well vacate the USA for the native Indians.

Tahir said: "We want the Plateau State or the Federal Government to evacuate us and take us to any part of the country, provided it will pay us compensation in cash including all our investments and graves of our ancestors and forefathers and mothers buried in Jos or to take Jos back to Bauchi State where we belonged to, but removed from the state by the colonial masters in 1920."