Seriki Adinoyi
26 December 2008
Jos — As the Administrative Committee of Enquiry set up by President Umaru Yar'Adua to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the Jos riot last month start its work, it has emerged that some 50 of the 530 persons arrested in connection with the skirmishes which claimed over 400 lives, were foreigners.
Making the disclosure yesterday while receiving the primate of the Anglican Communion of Nigeria, the Most Rev. Jasper Akinola, the governor of Plateau State, David Jang said the foreign nationals were caught in Nigerian military and police uniforms, and were armed with guns.
Several foreign nationals from neighbouring Niger and Mali were said to have taken part and were arrested during the riot last month which left more than 400 dead in the aftermath of disputed local council elections in the state.
Throwing more light on his experience from the recent riot in Jos, the governor confessed that in all his years in the military and even during the civil war, he had never been so overwhelmed and dazed by the experience he had during the crisis in Jos.
Jang admitted he had never been taken by such surprise, as was the case during the riot in the city.
The governor said: "I will tell you very frankly, Your Grace, that I have been a military man all my life. But even the civil war we went through did not devastate me in the manner the event that just happened in Jos.
"Since the incidents of 2001 and 2004, we have done everything possible to ensure peaceful co-existence. We went out of our way to accommodate everyone irrespective of religious or tribal inclinations.
"We had a very wonderful and in fact the most peaceful election ever conducted in Plateau State, and suddenly, when we were relaxing, awaiting the results of the elections, we heard that some parts of Jos city were on fire."
"When this kind of crisis happened in 2001 and 2004, a judicial commission of inquiry was set up and chaired by Justice Niki Tobi. This report has not been released. The government then, in its own wisdom, drafted a white paper and decided not to do anything.
"We are determined, as an administration, to get that white paper and study it while we await the new judicial commission. We shall now look at those who have been perpetrating this arson and killing innocent people and they would be brought to justice by the law of the nation," Jang said.
Akinola said he could not bring himself to believe that the heinous act was perpetrated by unemployed youths.
He expressed shock and disgust that "human beings could take other human lives which are sacred and sacrosanct."
He told Jang to liaise with his counterparts in other states on the problem and come out with a permanent and lasting solution.
The Federal Government, Wednesday, set up the Administrative Committee of Enquiry into the Jos riot that will be chaired by Major General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd.)
The terms of reference of the committee are among others to determine the remote and immediate causes of the unrest; determine the extent of the loss of lives and property; determine the types and sources of weapons used during the riot; and identify person(s), groups or institutions responsible for the unrest.
The committee is expected to submit its report to the Federal Government within three months from the date of its inauguration.
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The Federal Government Administrative Committee of Enquiry into the Jos riot chaired by Major General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd.) has scotched the snake but not killed it. Hopefully this time around this report would not be shoved under the rug waiting for another riot to erupt.
It is already known that hired guns as in the past were use by some religious fanatics and bigots to cause havoc in Nigeria. There are some unanswered questions:
a. Who brought in these hired religious machineries? b. How did they get into the country? Was the ECOWAS privilege broken? c. Should the Culprits be tried for treason alongside their machineries? d. What lesson is out there to learn from this ugly experience? e. Isn't time to declare Nigeria a Secular Society where everyone has the right to live out his/her God's given potential without fear of religious persecution?
Nigeria is too big, too advanced, too smart and too wealthy to be held hostage by bandits and religious fanatics.