Date Published: 01/20/11
Press Conference addressed by Birtus B. Kaze, Member House of Reps, Jos South-Jos East Ted. Const Plateau State on Monday 17th Jan, 2011
APPRECIATION:
1. To the people of Jos South-Jos East Federal Constituency and the Government and the good people of Plateau State for standing by me during the period of our illegal suspension. As you are all aware, an Abuja Federal High Court declared it illegal, null and void, we have since resumed work.
2. To the PDP Delegates in the Jos South-Jos East Federal Constituency for their support leading to my landslide victory at the PDP primary elections which held in Bukuru on the 6 th Jan, 2011. I assure my constituents of continued quality representation and urge my co-aspirants to join hands with me in ensuring the victory of PDP in the forthcoming general elections in April.
3. I wish to congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan and Gov Jonah Jang for their victory at the recently concluded PDP gubernatorial and presidential primaries. Their victory is a clear manifestation of their acceptability to the people. May I call on Gov Jang not be distracted by forces that are labouring to rubbish his good works. They labour in vain!
RECENT JOS TERRORISTS ATTACKS
May I sympathize with the victims and families of those who lost their loved ones in the Christmas eve bombings in Jos. The spade terrorism in Jos and environs further threatens the already terrible public image and credibility of some security agencies.
Precisely on Tuesday 26 th Oct, 2010 the immediate past CP Plateau State, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba announced “a big breakthrough” in the investigation into the Rawhinku attack. He said 7 persons were arrested, two of them made confessional statements linking a prominent person to the attack. “We all know him and we have given him up to Friday to show himself otherwise, we will have no option than to announce his name publicly.” Rather than expose him publicly since he failed to show himself, the Police authorities curiously transferred CP Aduba like CP Greg Anyating before him. The Rawhinku attackers may have been taken to force headquarters and freed like their counterparts, the ignoble 26 ‘Okene Police’. After the Dogo Nahawa massacre, Alh Sale Bayari brazenly declared on 11 th March, 2010 that “some people just have to die”, he revealed that “majority of our killings were carried out in areas where there was strong government presence.” Like former CP Aduba rightly said, “We all know him.”
In May last year, the STF hired its men out from their duty posts to invade the Tusung-Fan community ostensibly in pursuit of cow thieves, this led to the outbreak of violence and subsequent loss of lives. The Leadership Newspaper of 5 th May, 2010 reported that an STF operative, L/Cpl. S. Umar was shot dead by a fellow Muslim soldier for his complicit roles in the killings that took place at different locations including the Dogon Nahawa massacre.
Only recently the name tag of an operative of STF number ST 296, the ID card of a serving soldier and bank documents of one Abdullahi Mohammed were found at the scene of the Wareng killings. Fortunately, the ID card is not in the custody of either the Police or the STF, the name tag has been confirmed by the STF. Instead of apologizing for their gruesome betrayal, the STF pretended to have been shocked by the behaviour of the men they trained and posted. The STF Commander, Brig Gen Hassan Umary insulted our collective intelligence when he claimed his men "acted cowardly and neglected their duties.” They are not cowards, they are culprits who were deployed to Wareng on purpose by their collaborators some of whom could be their superiors in the STF. They must all be exposed and prosecuted before the courts of law not by internal trial like the court marshal.
On Monday 17 th Jan, 2011, some STF operatives escorted certain Hausa Fulani boys from Yanshanu to Tina Junction ostensibly to register, this generated serious tension. The Plateau Police CP Akano said in today's Punch that, “The youths started throwing stones at the soldiers on sighting them. They held one of the Hausa Fulani boys the soldiers were escorting"... ("Hausa Fulani boys" not INEC Ad Hoc Staff). A check on the displayed list of INEC Ad Hoc Staff in Jos North reveals that none of these that the Daily Trust newspaper report listed is among INEC Ah Hoc Staff anywhere in Jos North except (the deceased). Typically of Daily Trust reports on Jos crisis, it was biased to fuel embers of discord. Is it the responsibility of the STF or the Police to escort INEC Ad Hoc Staff? If yes, why didn't soldiers escort other INEC Ad Hoc Staff in Jos North? If they were INEC Ad Hoc Staff, why were they only 6 Hausa/Fulani Muslim staff how about other wards? Has Tina Junction ever been a distribution/collation center for any election/registration of voters in the history of Jos North? Why didn't Daily Trust report the shooting of Ajik Azi (who later died) and Ishaku Daniel Ajang (son of the Pastor to COCIN Jos Jarawa) by STF men which triggered wild reactions? When will the Daily Trust report the truth to safe innocent lives in Jos?
THE SULTANATE
Against the backdrop of the mudslinging credited to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Muhammadu Abubakar III to the effect that political leaders are to blame for the recent Jos Christmas eve bombings, I wish to in the Name of God Almighty, beg the President Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria to resist any temptation to politicize the Jos terrorist attacks, the implications are gross! Only last week, the Ulama/Elders Council Plateau State in a paid advert “explained the reason behind the outbreak of law and order in some parts of Jos North and Jos South Local Governments Areas” and again called for the declaration of the State of emergency in Plateau State as if the violence was perpetrated just to secure an emergency rule on the Plateau. Without commiserating at least with families of the victims, His Eminence descended heavily on the political leaders on a matter that has drawn worldwide ire. I am unable to recall that the Sultan blamed any political leader for the Warri bombings or the Boko Haram terrorism in Maiduguri and the New Year eve bombings in Abuja. Why Jos?
Signed
Bitrus B. Kaze
Member House of Representatives
Jos South-Jos East Federal Constituency
Plateau State
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