Date Published: 01/21/10

20 th January 2010.

Press release.

Lagos AC Condemns the Jos Violent Mayhem.

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress has condemned the renewed violence in the city of Jos, Plateau State, which had led to the death of hundreds of Nigerians and the destruction of properties worth billions of Naira. The party warns that the country must find ways to permanently resolve the dangerous trend or else risk a massive implosion in the near future as a result of the inaction of the present.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the party’s Lagos State Publicity secretary, Joe Igbokwe, Lagos AC said it is becoming worrying that a particular section of the country is behind all the crises that have bedeviling the country since independence, including the sowing of discord in Jos, a hitherto peaceful city. It says that this situation is becoming unacceptable and may soon spark off untoward reactions from other groups in Nigeria, which may portend danger for the fragile unity of the country.

“We are sad that Jos has been turned into a very violent and intolerant city, from the oasis of peace and serenity we all know it to be until recently. We all know that this dangerous situation came about because the same section of the country that is behind nearly all Nigerians national problems wanted to forcefully exercise dominance over Jos. We locate almost all the protracted crisis the nation has faced in the manipulative instincts of this same section, be it the Nigerian civil war, the ceaseless ethnic and religious crises in most parts of the north, the June 12 crisis, the Niger Delta crisis, the leadership crisis that has totally crippled Nigeria. We see this as becoming rather unacceptable to other Nigerians and we demand a total stop to this.

“Lagos AC is very unhappy, as other Nigerians that the peace and progress of this country, its development and potentials have been arrested by the negative activities of this particular section of the country, which is desirous of halting the progress of other ethnic groups when it is not just ready to advance to the next level. We are angry that Nigerians have been subjected to unending crises, killings and destructions, which have greatly affected the peace of the entire country and made co-existence almost impossible in a country as diverse as Nigeria.

“We demand an immediate cessation of the senseless and wanton killings in the North. We demand an immediate stoppage of this vicious cycle of riots, killings and maiming going on in the North. We demand an end to this unending madness. We demand that Jos be left to enjoy its former status as a peaceful abode for all Nigerians. We demand that the culprits of this recent Jos crisis and former crises in the North be exposed and punished to serve as a deterrent to the people fuelling and sponsoring these frequent crises in the North and any other part of Nigeria. We call on all Nigerians to rise with a unanimous voice to say enough is enough and firmly work towards ending the cycle of violent ethnic and religious crises in Nigeria.”

Joe Igbokwe.

Publicity Secrtary,

Lagos AC.