Taye Obateru and Abdulsalam Mohammed
2 December 2008
THE Police rolled out tanks in Kano city yesterday in readiness to quell possible reprisal that could arise from the Jos riots.
Watchers of events in the ancient city said the apparent show of might by the police became necessary because of the growing apprehension and tension resulting directly from the Jos mayhem.
As precautions were being taken in Kano, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State said in Jos that merceneries were brought in from the neighbouring Chad and Niger Republic to perpetrate the three-day mayhem.
In Kano, a long column of well-armed security personnel were seen criss-crossing the city in line with the resolution of the emergency security meeting held yesterday to forestall the spread of the mayhem.
Security sources told Vanguard that armed personnel in the city have been put on red alert and may be fully deployed in the event of a breakdown of law and order.
A senior police officer in the convoy told Vanguard that the "pre-emptive action" was designed to reassure the general public that the police were on top of the situation.
He declared that the police were ready to crush any attempt by miscreants to cash in on the unfortunate incident in Jos to unleash terror in the commercial city of Kano.
His words: "We have decided to patrol the city in an apparent show of force to assure the general public that all is well, and to forestall a spill over of the Jos mayhem to Kano."
Checkpoints have been mounted by stern-looking policemen at every entry point into the city for stop-and-search operation with a specific instruction to seize corpses that may be ferried to Kano for burial.
Kano which has had its fair share of ethno-religious crises has been used in the past by mischief makers to launch attacks on innocent citizen by ferrying in corpses from trouble spot to whip up sentiment.
Over 200 people were killed in Jos in the mayhem following a local government election last week.
In a chat with Vanguard, the Commissioner of Police in Kano, Alhaji Yesufu Aminu, said the pre-emptive measure was designed to forestall a spillover of Jos crisis.
Yesufu Aminu said the extra security measure in Kano was being adopted by states bordering Plateau State.
Mercenaries came from Niger, Chad - Gov Jang
Governor Jang made the mercenaries allegation while receiving the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Abdul Bidda, saying everything would be done to get those behind the disturbance.
Victims get relief materials
Meanwhile, relief materials from the Federal and Plateau State Governments are being distributed to victims of the mayhem in hospitals and other camps to alleviate their hardship.
The relief materials from the Federal Government which include mattresses and medicaments arrived hours after the minister overseeing the Health Ministry, Dr. Lawal Hassan, returned to the federal capital following an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
The state government also swung into action yesterday delivering water, food and other needs to the various camps for displaced persons spread across the state capital.
Many of the victims had repeatedly cried for relief materials especially water and food which they said were making survival in the camps difficult.
3 Youth Corps members also affected
Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yusuf Bomoi, confirmed yesterday that three youth corps members serving in the state were killed in the disturbance.
Minister, Speaker visit Jos
The minister who visited the Jos Central Mosque, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and the NDLEA Academy conveyed the sympathy of President Umaru Yar'Adua to the victims, assuring them that steps would be taken to ease their pain.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, who also visited yesterday expressed the concern of the House on the disturbance and assured Governor Jang that the law makers were behind the government and the people.
He said he was happy that the situation was being brought under control, saying his visit was to enable the House appraise the situation first hand.
Speaking at the Jos Central Mosque, he counselled against trading blame and utterances capable of generating further tension, assuring that government would do everything necessary to resolve the problem.
However, the Speaker's trip was said to have been almost marred by the unruly bahaviour of some youths as he made to leave the mosque, necessitating the drafting of more security men and some armoured personnel carrier to prevent an ugly situation.
Senator representing Plateau North District, Dr. Gyang Dantong, has meanwhile, warned against misrepresentation of facts and inflammatory remarks capable of creating further problems.
Addressing newsmen yesterday, he expressed disappointment that some well-placed people were making remarks especially on foreign media capable of creating more tension.
He said what had become clear from the attack on worship houses and innocent persons, was that the crisis went beyond politics. "Our people have died unnecessarily. Whatever the tribe, whatever the religion, they are all our people. Let us take heart. We've had enough losses. Let's not add to the losses we've had," he said.
Senator Dantong urged the state government to immediately set up a machinery to identify sponsors of the mayhem and bring them to book.
There was relative calm in some parts of the city yesterday as people went round to see what food and other needs they could pick up. However, demand outweighed supply leading to a scramble which the sellers capitalized on to increase prices.
Although the commercial banks remained shut, users of ATM cards formed long queues to make withdrawals from various banks.
Meanwhile, the Central Zone of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and the Christian Foundation for Social Justice and Equity have called on the state government to respond appropriately to the crisis to protect lives and property.
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what i hate about Nigerian news articles is the fact that so many of them are just the opinion babblings of an untrained random person. Most of them should be blogs
how is a professional journalist going to write about a riot and not mention in his pages and pages of banter what caused the rioting?
I to advice the people in Jos not to look at themselves as being different but as one. There is no christian or muslem in Nigeria. We are children of the same father.