Jos Violence and the Irreparability of Nigeria’s Fault Lines

The recent bloody crises in Jos, Plateau State, have further exposed how endemic the nation’s fault lines have become. Seriki Adinoyi writes

The ill-fated Saturday came like every other one; everyone went about their businesses without any hint of the violence to come. Some were already in the market place, others had gone to their farms, and taxis were on the streets, everyone trying to hustle for the day. There was no form of tension in any way to suggest that the city was going to be thrown into a mayhem.

The only occasion that drew emotions was the burial of victims of previous attacks in Bassa Local Government Area, where scores were killed and farmlands destroyed by suspected herdsmen.

Two weeks had gone by, frail nerves had been calmed and victims’ relatives had accepted their losses. They were only going to convey the remains of the dead from Plateau Specialist Hospital for a mass burial in Bassa, a few kilometers away from Jos. They had repeatedly announced to the public that they were conveying the bodies for burial.

On that Saturday morning they had gathered at the hospital in the morning, and in a convoy they headed to the cemetery with the bodies.

On getting to Rukuba Road, they met another convoy of about five buses. They were commuters conveying Muslims that had gone to Bauchi State for a spiritual exercise. They were allegedly returning to Ondo State from where they had visited Bauchi.

No one expected any serious problem to ensue. Muslims have had several retreats in Jos without any rancor; these ones were only passing by. The mourners only got worried that they were on the same route to the cemetery where they were going for the burial.

They were alarmed to see such a large number of able-bodied men going the same direction with them. On approaching them, they allegedly explained that they were from Bauchi state passing through Jos. Their concern was not unfounded because in the past sympathizers were attacked and killed at cemeteries where they had gone to bury victims of attacks.

It was in similar circumstances that Senator Gyang Dantong and an Assemblyman, Hon. Gyang Fulani died. They had gone to sympathize with loved ones where they were burying victims of attacks, and suddenly attackers came down from the hills over them. As everyone tried to escape to safety, the two lawmakers became exhausted from running long distances. They collapsed and died of exhaustion. So, it was not out of place to suspect a large number of strangers in a convoy going the same direction considering the security circumstances in the state.

They were even more alarmed because Rukuba Road was completely off Bauchi Road, and there was no thorough fare to Ondo where they claimed they were heading to. But the strangers allegedly explained further that they had branched off their way to re-fuel their vehicles. But the question would still be that why must it be in the same direction as the mourners?

But typical of Jos in recent times, every little thing triggers violence, which snowballs into full blown crisis. As arguments and counter-arguments ensued between those going for burial and the strangers, emotions were let loose, and violence followed. The best form of defense, they say, is to attack first. The commuters obviously were attacked by the grieved sympathizers, and the city literally caught fire. Corpses littered the streets; the strangers ran in all directions. Those that were not smart enough got killed in the midst of the confusion, others were severely injured, while many got missing in the mayhem. Before soldiers and policemen could get to the scene, a huge damage had been recorded; about 23 lives were lost. The security men took over the streets only to salvage what was left.

Though the soldiers and police tentatively controlled the violence, palpable tension got hold of the city. There were apprehensions that the crisis was not over yet. Dark clouds of unfinished crisis covered the city. Sensing the apprehension, the state government immediately imposed 12-hour curfew on the city; 6pm to 6am.

The following day was a Sunday, worshippers went to churches with their hearts in their mouths; they suspected that there could be an escalation of the mayhem. Indeed, there was. Some churches were attacked and vandalized. Worshippers were attacked on their way to their churches. Others didn’t go to church for fear of the unknown. In the aftermath of the Sunday attacks, at least seven other persons were killed. Students of the University of Jos were not spared; those that were not so lucky fell victims of tricylists (keke) who stabbed them to death, and pushed them down from the moving tricycle. Others were attacked while they were on their way to church. Then it turned to a religious crisis.

The blame game began. While some blamed the strangers for crossing the path of an emotion-laden group that were going for burial, others blamed those going for the burial for intolerance.

The Governor extended the 12-hour curfew to 24-hour to prevent escalation.
To worsen the already bad situation, the Plateau State command of the Nigerian Police Force issued an unprofessional and controversial statement that further fueled the crisis. The police was probably not patient enough to do thorough investigation before apportioning blames. The statement identified the Irigwe as the aggressors who pounced on Muslim commuters and killed them. Even if the allegation was true, the Police should not have arrived at such a hasty conclusion before the report of the investigation was released.

The statement signed by the state Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Gabriel Ogaba could best be described as a goof. It read it part; “On 14/08/2021 at about 0928hrs, the Plateau State Police Command received a distress call that a group of attackers suspected to be Irigwe youths and their sympathizers along Rukuba Road of Jos North LGA attacked a convoy of five buses with Muslim faithful who were coming back from the Annual Zikr prayer in Bauchi State and heading to Ikare in Ondo State.

“Unfortunately, 22 persons were killed and 14 injured in the attack.

“Upon receipt of the report, a team of police personnel, the military and other sister agencies were immediately mobilised to the scene where seven victims were rescued and six suspects arrested.

“The Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, CP Edward Egbuka, along with the GOC 3-Division, Major General Ibrahim Ali, also visited the scene and ordered for a discreet investigation to fish out other perpetrators of this barbaric act at large.

“The CP warned that those that perpetrated this dastardly act and others that incited it will be made to face the full wrath of the law. The command urges the public to remain calm and to furnish the police with useful information that will aid the investigation.”

Within a short time, the Presidency, through Mr. Shehu Garba quickly issued a statement condemning the act and charging the police to apprehend the perpetrators.

Arrests were quickly made, and more Policemen were deployed from Force Headquarters, Abuja to join their counterpart in Jos. This raised a question about the interest of the Federal Government on the matter. The Irigwe tribe first denied complicity, then queried the interest of government in the matter. Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN) also expressed concern that the Federal Government became so interested.

They recalled that three weeks earlier, suspected herdsmen raided Bassa communities where they killed several persons, burnt down houses, destroyed farmlands, and rendered several thousand homeless without a word from the Federal Government. The traditional head of Bassa also lamented that soldiers watched while his subjects were hacked to death by the suspected Fulani herders. So, why did the Federal Government quickly become interested in the recent one, so much that a statement was issued to condemn it, as security men were deployed to the scene all the way from Abuja.

PIDAN observed that in spite of the repeated attacks on the natives in Bassa Local Government, the Federal Government did not deem it important to deploy security personnel. They observed that on the same day the Muslim strangers were attacked a Presidential spokesman quickly learnt his voice to condemn the attack.

PIDAN said, “We take exception to the statement credited to PPRO of the Police Command in Plateau State on the unfortunate incident at Rukuba Road where it was reported to have said that the killings and skirmishes at Rukuba Road were carried out by Irigwe youths and their mourners.

“Rukuba Road is cosmopolitan and we do not know how the Police arrived at such a speedy conclusion that the Irigwe were the ones that attacked the commuters. For weeks, they have not been able to unravel the killers behind the persistent attacks in Irigwe community.”

PIDAN’s statement, which was jointly signed by its President and Secretary-General, Prof. Madaki JKA and Comrade Nanle Gujor respectively, said the incessant killings of people in Irigwe land in particular, and Jos environs in general over the last two weeks was disturbing. The statement further condemned the attacks on law abiding citizens by any group of persons by whatever name and for any reason, stressing that life is sacrosanct.

While identifying with the families that lost their beloved ones and praying that God granted them the fortitude to bear their losses, PIDAN said that the escalating violence in Bassa and Jos North LGAs since 2nd August 2021 to date has been of grave concern and must be looked into.
According to the statement, “In the first week of August, the Irigwe land was massively attacked by suspected Fulani militias resulting in massive destruction of property and loss of lives.

“Following the unfortunate incidence, the Irigwe Development Association recorded 68 deaths, destruction of over 500 homes and displacement of over 30,000 persons.
“While we were mourning, we expect the government to have used such a period to beef up security in all nooks and crannies of Jos and its environs but such has not been the case.

“On the 13-08-2021, when the Irigwe were having mass burial of their victims, a convoy of five buses filled with able bodied men with a claim that they were from Bauchi going to Ilaro in Ondo State was intercepted at Rukuba Road where a fracas ensued between them and the youths resulting in deaths of 23 persons as reported by the press.
“We are very much worried at the insensitivity of some members of the public to the plight of natives on the Plateau.

“Why would any group of right thinking Nigerians fill a series of vehicles with able bodied men and attempt to pass through a community undergoing mass burial when there are more secure alternative routes to continue in their journey?
“We call on the security agencies to thoroughly investigate this incident and make their findings known to the public on the real mission of the group involved in this ugly situation”, the statement added.

PIDAN said it was equally shocked with the swift reactions of the security agencies and the quick response from the Presidency on the incident at Rukuba Road saying that same reaction was not displayed on the killings that went on for days in Irigwe land. It condemned what it called ‘Government’s selective treatment of killings on the Plateau’ and asked for equity and justice in the handling of the security challenges in the state.

It added that the state Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong that did not visit the scene of attacks in Bassa communities, but he personally visited the scene of the commuters’ attack for on-the-spot assessment, describing his action as unacceptable. They alleged that Lalong has joined the Federal Government to play politics with the lives of Plateau citizens.

Just when the normalcy was returning and curfew relaxed, gunmen launched another massive attack on another Christian community in Jos; Yelwa Zangam killing at least 35, and throwing city into another phase of confusion.

The native got really aggrieved that strangers are out to take their lands from them; they alleged that the persistent attacks were a form of jihad being launched by the Fulani to dislodge them from their ancestral homes.

They were also worried that the Governor has been blindfolded by politics and power, and can no longer see the long term effect of selling off his people.
To express this displeasure, they people gathered the corpses of the victims and took them to the Government House for the Governor to bury. They first took the bodies to the state House of Assembly, and then they proceeded from there to the Government House. This again threw the city into confusion, forcing the Governor to re-impose 24-hour curfew on the city.

The state House of Assembly was forced to speak. Addressing a world press conference, the Assembly also called on the people of Plateau to rise up and defend themselves and their communities, as the conventional security design seems to have shown ineptitude to do so, and can no longer guarantee the safety of the people.

Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Peter Dasun, who spoke for the Assembly condemned the killings as unacceptable. He also commended the youths for publicly displaying the corpses of the victims at the House of Assembly to send a strong message to government that it is not doing enough to protect the citizens.

He said, “We commend the youths on the Plateau for sustained coordinated and organized campaigns against the killings and as well the courage to make it go viral by sending strong messages to the world using the dead bodies of the mayhem on the social media and the streets of Jos; the display of the corpses in the House of Assembly is a sign that they recognized the authority of the House as an institution that can speak for the people. We greatly appreciate that action.

“As an Assembly with the people at heart, we call on Plateau State citizens to have confidence in us with renewed commitment as we have given two weeks to the Governor to take action on the Resolutions the House has forwarded on security matters and how to restore peace.

“We strongly call on Plateau People to practically stand up and defend themselves and their communities, as the conventional security design is no longer guaranteeing our safety as a people.

“We call on the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, to come up with a statement defending us as a people and to bring back renewed commitment to the cause of Plateau.

“We are still expecting with high hopes, the President to also come up with a statement about the killings in Yelwa Zangam just as he did in the killings of travelers along Rukuba Road and to also indicate a sign of justice, or we will see him as being reflexive about the conflict in Plateau.”

Now that the state Assembly is already seeing a religious colouration to the crisis, and already suspicious of Federal Government’s position on the crisis, how can a solution be found?

One takeaway from the killings and the quick escalation of the violence is that the ‘peace’ in Jos is still a very fragile one. The people are still sharply divided along religious and ethnic fault lines. That’s why places of worship are usually the first target when crises erupt. The Muslims in Jos see the Christians as foes, the same goes for the Christians.

When a Muslim first relocates to Jos/Plateau, the first inquiry would always be to know settlements that are dominated by Muslims; even Corps members posted to Jos dare not rent a house outside settlements that are dominated by people of other faith.

All the peace effort by the Governor in the last his six years have been rubbished in just a few days. There is fear of the unknown everywhere; no one feels safe.
The University of Jos, where students were writing examination suspended it immediately, as students were home. Each state government had to send buses to convey their students back home.

The crisis again has revealed how divided Nigerians are. The Federal Government, as the father for all, should do more to complement the efforts of the state governments at building trust and confidence among Nigerians. The country has never been so sharply divided as it is today.

The Federal Government should be sincere in its approach to broker peace. The idea of using deodorant on one and insecticide on another can only breed more violence, and there cannot be peace where justice is not enthroned. Where the Fulani or the native is complicit in any crime, the culprit should be treated as a criminal without making a sacred cow of anyone. Only then, will enduring peace be observed in the land.

QUOTE 1

To express this displeasure, they people gathered the corpses of the victims and took them to the Government House for the Governor to bury. They first took the bodies to the state House of Assembly, and then they proceeded from there to the Government House. This again threw the city into confusion, forcing the Governor to re-impose 24-hour curfew on the city

QUOTE 2

Their concern was not unfounded because in the past sympathizers were attacked and killed at cemeteries where they had gone to bury victims of attacks.
It was in similar circumstances that Senator Gyang Dantong and an Assemblyman, Hon. Gyang Fulani died. They had gone to sympathize with loved ones where they were burying victims of attacks, and suddenly attackers came down from the hills over them