The Secretary, Sultan’s Farmer/Cattle Rearers Conflict Committee, Sale Bayeri, has claimed that he ordered the massacre of Berom women and children in the early hours of March. He brazenly taunted that he was part of the planning of the 7th March, 2010 cold-blooded massacre of women and children by his Fulani herdsmen in Dogon Nahawa and surrounding villages. While some Nigerians have doubted his confession, it is not impossible that Bayeri is part of the plot.
He had given an inciting press conference in Kaduna a few days to the massacre. And after the Dogon Nahawa episode he gave another press conference in Abuja calling for the release of the the arrested suspects. It does add up. Strange though that the security agents have not thought it fit to have a chat with him. I understand he used to be the PDP Secretary in Plateau State.
“Under normal circumstances and in climes where justice truly thrives, Bayeri should have been promptly arrested and charged to court. But so far, nothing has happened to him!
At least 12 Christians were killed in Byei and Baten villages on Tuesday night, little more than a week after a massacre on the Christian community in which as many as 500 people were killed by members of the Muslim Fulani tribe.
Victims of Wednesday’s attack included two pregnant women and children. Attackers burnt a mother and her two children to death and cut out the tongues of some victims.
This is the second appalling attack on Christians in this area in a fortnight. Barely two weeks ago had about 500 citizens, mainly women and children lost their lives in similar attacks.
The attacks have taken place despite a curfew and the deployment of military personnel and police to keep the peace. It is a matter of concern that some of the attackers were wearing military uniforms.
The fact that these latest attackers were allegedly in military attire begs serious questions over whether army units currently stationed in Plateau State are truly capable of providing protection.
The Bola Ajibola Commission
Many people have called for the Government to constitute another panel of enquiry into Jos crisis. But what has happened to Bola Ajibola Commission of Enquiry that was set up last year on the JoS Crisis? It is still believed that recommendation of the Ajibola panel should be acted upon.
Observers say the report cover all necessary areas that could help stem the perennial socio-religious crisis in the state without bias.
The panel, headed by eminent lawyer and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), was inaugurated on January 15.
Five reference points
THE Ajibola Commission of Inquiry had five prominent terms of reference.
The targets include, to establish the remote and immediate causes of the Jos unrest; identify individuals, groups of persons and institutions directly or indirectly responsible for the unrest and their roles in precipitating the unrest and recommend appropriate sanctions.
It was also charged to ascertain the extent of loss of lives and damage to property; recommend ways of avoiding recurrence of such violent unrest in future and make any or other recommendations incidental to its terms of reference.
Instructively, the Hausa-Fulani populace was reported to have boycotted the panel’s sittings.
The reports/indictment
THE Commission of Enquiry which was a follow up on the November 28, 2008 sectarian strife in some parts of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, faulted the creation of the local government area by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
The commission also observed that local government election of November 27, 2008 in Plateau State was not the cause of the crisis, but only gave impetus to the Hausa/Fulani community to perpetrate mayhem since they felt that they were about to lose their primary source of economic and political dominance.
Accordingly, the 339-page report also said it was not satisfied by the explanations of former President Ibrahim Babangida that he did not create Jos North local government to favour a particular group. The commission said it found out that the former military president created Jos North local government in 1991 to favour the Hausa Fulani of Jos North as it was the Hausa Fulani community that demanded for the local government in the form it was created.
It also recommended that the present Jos North Local Government be re-delineated into three sustainable local governments with an equitable representative number of wards within each local government, while “the state government should give due consideration to all ethnic groupings in appointments, nominations and promotions within the state.”
In addition, it recommended that the state government should promote inclusion and participation through a ‘State Character’ principle similar to the Federal Character policy of the Federal Government, “as this would take into consideration citizens’ right in any part of Nigeria that they may find themselves.
“This means that all persons who are bona fide citizens should have equal rights, opportunities and access and not to deny those designated as non-indigenes of an area the access to some of the most important avenues of socio economic mobility be it government jobs, academic scholarships, university admission or fees,” it noted.
It further recommended that the police be made to investigate the activities of some prominent persons in the state, including former Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu, Alhaji Saleh Hassan, Sheik Yahaya Jengre, as well as former Minister of State for Information and Communications Alhaji Dasuki Ibrahim Nakande.
The commission recommended that Nakande and House of Representatives member representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency, Malam Samaila Mohammed, among others, be thoroughly investigated by the police, saying their utterances before and after the crisis were capable of igniting more crises in the future.
The Justice Bola Ajibola Commission of Enquiry on the November 28, 2008 sectarian strife in some parts of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State faulted the creation of the local government area by former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
The commission has also observed that local government election of November 27, 2008 in Plateau State was not the cause of the crisis, but only gave impetus to the Hausa/Fulani community to perpetrate mayhem since they felt that they were about to lose their primary source of economic and political dominance.
In an Executive Summary obtained by our correspondent on Thursday in Jos, the panel said that the local council, which was created through the States (Creation and Transition Provision Decree No 2 of 1991), was not done in consultation with the people.
The panel recommended the splitting of the area into three sustainable local government administrative areas.
The commission observed that when the indigenous people rejected the creation of the local government, the then Gen Ibrahim Babangida administration did not do anything about it until the regime left office.
The commission said that the 2008 election was just an excuse by the Hausa/Fulani population to cause trouble.
It said, “Even though there is no doubt in the minds of the commission that the unrest of November 28, 2008 erupted from acts of violence initiated by Hausa/Fulani Muslims, a point corroborated by the police, nevertheless the commission felt that it ought to hear from both sides.”
It continued, “The commission restates here that despite the coincidence of time, the local government election was not the immediate cause of the unrest, but they had the subsequent effect, in that the feeling that the Hausa/Fulani lost the election and had by that token lost access to one of the major opportunities for economic dominance and advancement among their people pushed them to violence.”
The commission recommended that the creation of new local governments should be done in consultation with the people as laid down by the constitution.
It added, “The work of the commission of enquiry was to some extent limited by the deliberate non-participation of the Hausa/Fulani community, members of key organisations such as the Ullama and the Ja’amatu Nasril Islam.
“This was premised on allegations of bias levelled against the Plateau State Government and the commission. These allegations have been vehemently denied on numerous occasions by both parties on various occasions.”
It asked the state government to immediately implement the report of all commissions of enquiry on the Jos crisis and punish all indicted persons, in order to put an end to the bloody clashes in the area.
enyimba@elombah.com