Date Published: 03/23/10

JOS MASSACRE: THE TRIGGER POINTS By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Last Week I deliberately refused to write on the latest rounds of well orchestrated and coordinated mass murder in Dogo Nahawa Jos South Local Government Area Council of Plateau State by some suspected Fulani herdsmen because of the need to give the Federal and Plateau state Governments the opportunity to enforce some effective measures to put to an end the orgy of senseless mass murder of citizens by some extremists and religious/ethnic bigots in Plateau State. A week after, the fact steering us in the face is the crude and unfortunate incapacity or unwillingness of the Federal Government particularly and the National Assembly to take concrete measures to end this spate of genocidal killing of hundreds of innocent Nigerians by some outlaws who are backed by some powerful forces.

To demonstrate that the Federal Government is unwilling to resolve the crises in Plateau State, the General Officer Commanding the Army’s base in Jos who incidentally is in charge of the enforcement of the dusk-to-dawn curfew in that crises-ridden state General Maina is still sitting pretty comfortably in his position even when it has become clearer that he failed to prevent the mid-February massacre of innocent citizens in Jos South. Worst still, this same military officer who failed spectacularly to nip in the bud the well planned and carefully executed genocide in Jos South is running from pillar to post galvanizing support from some parochial forces and ethno-religious warlords and dishing out generous media interviews to defend his colossal failure of hardcore intelligence which would have prevented the mass murder. This is shameful.

This is the first trigger point which if not properly remedied has the potential of giving rise to total loss of faith by the people of Plateau state in the Government to provide security of lives and property in that State that was once seen by millions of Nigerians as one of the best destination points for foreign and local tourists. The Federal Government must act now by addressing this complete failure of quality intelligence on the part of the security community especially the military who are charged with enforcing the dusk-to-dawn curfew. The Federal Government must not pander to some religious warlords but must do what is right to salvage the security situation in Plateau state. The Police equally deserve some criticism and some heads should roll for the failure of the Plateau state police command to prevent the mass murder especially when stories are rife that the nation’s police hierarchy got an intelligence that some people were training for some kind of guerrilla warfare.

Another aspect of the first trigger point in the entire fiasco unfolding in Jos Plateau State is the dereliction of duty committed by the Plateau state Governor Jonah Jang who as a retired senior military officer got an intelligence of the impending attacks in Jos South Local Government area council but went to sleep because he believed that the information he supplied to the General Officer Commanding the Army base in Jos Plateau State whether through a text message as was claimed by the embattled Army General or phone call was sufficient to ensure that the poor innocent citizens are protected from the attacks of the armed hoodlums. Why did the Governor not inform the Acting President and all the relevant heads of all the relevant security agencies in Nigeria or does he not have the current phone numbers of the Director General of the States Security Service [SSS], the National Security Adviser, Inspector General of Police and the Acting President? Why did the Governor not stay awake and monitor the deployment of security operatives to these communities that he got intelligence of the impending attacks some hours before the armed alleged Fulani herdsmen commenced the gruesome and bestial massacre of hundreds of Children, girls and Women? Jang failed his people because just like most member of the elite in Nigeria who care less about the security and welfare of the common people, he went to bed leaving them to their fate. The same is the case with virtually all Nigeria’s senior Police officers who are in the habit of perpetually failing to keep their lines open beyond midnight. Nigerians want the Federal Government to punish some of these security chiefs who have shown by their failure to prevent the Jos massacre in Jos South local Government council that they are thoroughly incompetent and lack total commitment to execute their constitutional mandate of providing security of lives and property of Nigerians. If The Acting President fails to take action to address this security failure by sacking some more military officers not minding whatever sentiments that are being galvanized from some so-called religious leaders, then the Federal Government is preparing a fertile ground for further massacre because those who lost their relatives will not forgive and forget knowing that the killers are walking the streets unpunished and  perceiving that some cabals in Government are providing active support for perpetrators of the violence.

Another trigger point is the poor prosecution by the law enforcement agents of those arrested as suspects and perpetrators of the mass killings in Jos Plateau State. The Police started wrongly by engaging in the melodrama of disputing the actual figures of those killed in Jos South. While most analysts and the Plateau State Government estimate that over four hundred persons were killed by the armed hoodlums suspected to be Fulanis, the Police in Plateau State put the figure at a little above one hundred. My question is what is more important to the Police between arresting the suspects and gathering quality and fool-proof body of evidence strong enough to earn them commendable percentage of conviction rate or is it the calculation and dancing to the gallery of public opinion bandying figures and arguing with the families of the bereaved? The Police must put their house in order and become responsibly accountable or else the citizens will lose complete faith in the ability of the Police to safeguard their lives and property. The Police operatives are already laughing stocks because of the corruption that has eaten deeper into the marrows of the institution and the personalities in the Nigeria Police Force. The Police can ill afford further damage to its already well battered public image. This two trigger points must be remedied for peace to reign in Plateau State and Nigeria in general. Lastly, Soldiers must be loyal to Nigeria not their ethnic or religious groups or else Nigeria is irredeemably doomed.

+Onwubiko is with HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.