Tension in Jos as Army Discovers Grave of Missing General

• District head, two others submit self to Police

By Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Following intensified efforts by the military towards unraveling the whereabouts of Major General Idris Alkali (rtd) who was declared missing on Monday 3rd of September, 2018 while travelling from Abuja to Bauchi, an open shallow grave where his body was allegedly buried before it was exhumed and taken to an unknown place has been discovered.

 Alkali’s car was found in a mining pit at Dura-Du Village in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

An expert who allegedly aided in exhuming the General’s remains alongside other accomplices have been apprehended and are now helping in the investigations.

Also, some of the persons, including the district head of Dura-Du, Mr. Yakubu Rapp, who were declared wanted by the Police in connection with the incident, have turned themselves up to the Police.

In a short statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Terna Tyopev, a Deputy Superintended of Police, the command said, “The Plateau State Police Command’s decision to declare some people wanted in respect to the case of the mysterious disappearance of Major General IM Alkali (rtd) has started yielding results.

“One of the persons declared wanted, Da Yakubu Rapp, the district Head reported to the Plateau State Police Command Headquarters Jos this morning, and he is undergoing interrogation.”

Others, according to Tyopev, are Timothy Chuwang, Matthew Chuwang, and Stephen Chuwang.

The Royal father Rapp said, “I don’t know anything about the missing Army General. On Sunday, September 2, the soldiers came to our Lopandyet community, started shooting and killing people. Even two of my sons were killed and two of my grandsons were wounded, and are now in critical conditions. One was taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital, while the other was admitted in Plateau State Hospital.

“On October 2, about one month later, the Divisional Police Officer of Anglo Jos Division called me and showed me two of the police officers who gave me a paper that I should report to the Plateau State Command Headquarters on October 4 in respect of the missing Army General.

 “The Army also came to my house and started shooting guns sporadically. They knocked at my door and threatened that they would kill me as they killed my children. They left, but promised to come back by 3:00a.m. They threatened that if they did not see me, they will arrest my children, with the hope that I will come if they detain me.

“The soldiers destroyed my house and it was because of their threats that I did not come. When the Army came to the mining pond, they never asked for anybody. I have decided to surrender myself to the police after I heard that I have been declared wanted. I have decided to go myself because I am not a wanted person. Let the police carry out their investigation. I have confidence in the police than the Army. Let justice be done.”

Gen. Alkali, immediate past Chief of Administration of the Nigerian Army, recently travelled from Abuja to Bauchi via Jos in his black Toyota Corolla car with registration number, Kwara MUN 670 AA on a restive day, and unfortunately ran into some hoodlums who were protesting an attack on the village which had happened the previous night, 2nd September, 2018.  The General was allegedly assaulted and killed by the hoodlums.

Addressing newsmen on Friday on the efforts to recover the remains of the General, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Armored Division, Major General Benson Akinroluyo said initial credible intelligence revealed that his car was stopped and he introduced himself as a General to the hoodlums who had barricaded the road, and that he was just passing through to Bauchi, adding that the Senior Officer was assaulted and killed.

 He said, “Thereafter, his belongings such as clothing, cash, phones and laptop were shared by those who killed him.  His body was dragged before being moved to somewhere else and his car was driven and pushed into the abandoned mining pit filled with water. The irate youths who followed his car to the abandoned mining pit filled with water on many tricycles popularly known as “Keke NAPEP” jubilated for reason best known to them or for mission accomplished. He was later buried in a shallow grave in an area popularly known as, ‘No man’s land’ within the community.”

Narrating further, Gen. Akinroluyo said that when the General’s  car was recovered from the mining pit, those involved and those not involved in the killing of the General held a meeting to relocate his corpse away from the community because of the inherent danger it would attract to the community, adding that consequently, a 10-man team was constituted to relocate his corpse earlier buried in a shallow grave within the community to elsewhere while  specialist in preservation of corpse was contracted and assisted in exhuming his corpse from the shallow grave to elsewhere.

He added; “Only few trusted members of the community knew where his corpse was relocated to. The specialist is currently in our custody. Again, this is an attempt to cover up the heinous crime committed by the community. There exist other evidence and indicators that pointed to the fact that those who were involved in the killing of the Senior Officer are being supported and backed by Community Leaders within the Dura-Du district.

“In recent times, they have been staging press conferences and writing petitions in order to smear the image of the Division in particular and the Nigerian Army in general. This Division will not yield to the antics or blackmail by those who have committed this dastardly crime.”

The GOC revealed that Da Chuwang Samuel believed to have masterminded the assault and killing of the retired General, adding that Nyam Samuel, Pam Gyang, Mathew Wrang, Moses Gyang. Timothy Chuang, Yakubu Rapp (the district head of Dura Du Village) and Chuwang Istifanus had been declared wanted by the relevant authority based on their degree of culpability in the killing of the General.

 He said that four different sources, not known to each other, at various times took the military to the opened shallow grave where Alkali was earlier buried but subsequently removed, adding that “sniffer dogs that have been cultured with the personal effects of the senior officer led us to the same opened shallow grave.”

“That was the only grave we were led to by different people and sniffer dogs. We did not go to any other grave as the operation was carried out based on credible intelligence. Like I always say, the cordon and search operation is intelligence driven and that is why the operation has been conducted in line with international best practices and respect for human rights.  This further explains why the Division did not clamp down on the entire community. Only the perpetrators are being targeted.”

He reiterated that all the actors involved in the dastardly act who were still at large were known to the military while all efforts were being made to get them arrested and brought to justice as their photographs and personal details were with the relevant security agencies.

The GOC added that the cordon and search operation conducted by troops had really exposed the heinous crimes being committed by the few but fully supported and concealed  by the entire community and  commended members of the public for their cooperation, and still solicited for anyone with credible information on where Alkali was re-buried to come up with it.

He pointed out that relations of those whose vehicles were discovered in the mining pit had come up to identify the vehicles with proven evidences.

One Mohammed Sadiq Abdulahi whose father owned the Toyota Haice bus that was found in the mining pit said his father was walleyed in the area in July this year and killed, while another person Yusuf Abubakar also identified another Red Rover car belonging to his uncle, Alhaji Lawal Isa.