The Senate yesterday expressed concern over the alleged use of military uniforms in the recent Jos crisis and directed the Federal Government to investigate and bring the perpetrators to book.
The upper legislative chamber also condemned the latest outbreak of hostilities in Plateau State.
This followed a motion moved by Senator Gyang Dantong, entitled, "Outbreak of fresh hostilities in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State."
James Manager, who was also a co-sponsor of the motion from Delta State, seconded the motion, stressing, "We have to go beyond mere debate on the floor of the Senate. Jos was on fire under Governor Dariye, which led to a state of emergency; and today Jos is on fire under Governor Jang. We have debated on the Plateau crisis in this chamber. Senator Ndoma Egba was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Jos Crisis, where is the report? We can not continue to debate on Jos crisis on the floor of the Senate without results. We have to act now.
"Justice Niki-Tobi also headed a panel of enquiry on Jos; where is the report? We must go beyond debates. Something must be done concerning Jos crisis."
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Senator Ibrahim Ida said, "Our committee got in touch with the military. We have invited them to brief us on the level of their involvement in handling the crisis."
Also contributing, the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, noted with regret that Jos, which was preferred by non-indigenes for settlement, has no difference now with Somalia and Afghanistan.
He added, "The country witnessed its first state of emergency under the constitution in Jos. The frequency of the crisis is as result of the failure of the government to arrest and jail the culprits. Until we begin to rise to the occasion and punish those who perpetrate the action, we will continue to have such crisis.
"These are the things that made America to enlist us on the list of terrorist countries, because when things like this happen, nobody appears to be in charge, nobody is punished and the crime continues."
Senator Ahmed Yerima also told the Senate that if the security agencies failed in their responsibilities, the crisis would continue and possibly engulf the entire country.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, argued, "The motion should be looked at from a different perspective by commending governors of other states for ensuring that the crisis does not escalate into other states."
He suggested that the only way to address such issues is the constitutional imposition of the state of emergency on a state where there are clear dangers of breakdown of law and order.
He maintained that in the past, the provisions of the constitution on a state of emergency were misinterpreted and abused.
"I am aware that there is a curfew in Jos and movements are restricted. And I am saying it is wrong to restrict movement, because there is no state of emergency in Jos, therefore you cannot restrict movement."
Meanwhile, Governor Jonah David Jang of Plateau State has assured that the crisis had been contained, but urged law-abiding citizens to respect the curfew imposed on Jos and Bukuru.
In a broadcast to the people of the state on Tuesday night, he commended the efforts and sacrifices of security personnel in quelling the crisis, and thanked the Federal Government for deploying soldiers and the police into the city to restore order.
To this effect, Jang has, after meeting security agencies in the state, reduced the curfew period from the 24-hour period imposed on Tuesday to 5 p.m. to 10 a.m.
LEADERSHIP learnt that this was as a result of the harsh difficulties the earlier curfew had imposed on residents of the city. Barely a day after the curfew was imposed, the residents began to defy it.
The breach was as a result of the telling effects of hunger and thirst on the residents, because they did not envisage the development, thus, they are running out of food and water supplies as their stock was fast finishing.
Investigations by our correspondents showed that only the fear of the security operatives spread all over the city and its environs had limited the breach of the curfew as the operatives kept turning people back.
The Plateau Specialist Hospital, which has been treating the injured since the outbreak of the crisis, was reportedly running out of essential drugs.
A pharmacist in the hospital, Mr Moses Ayuba, said that the hospital was using the last batch of consignments.
He called on the Federal Ministry of Health to come to the rescue of the state.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Pam Danlong, welcomed assistance from individuals and organisations.
At the hospital, situated in the heart of the city, scores of victims were being attended to by doctors and nurses.
In his address to the state, Jang said his government had received the report of the Ajibola Panel of Inquiry which investigated the November 2008 disturbance, and would implement the recommendations.
"It is unfortunate that while all these efforts are yielding desired restoration of peace, we are again taken aback by forces which do not mean well for the state," the governor declared.
According to him, other interest groups had been making appeals to ensure that peace was not only restored but also became permanent in the state.
Jang said perpetrators would be dealt with decisively.
He regretted the terror unleashed on innocent law-abiding citizens in the state, saying his administration would not fold its arms and watch people being killed and their property destroyed.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 internally-displaced persons are taking refuge at the Bukuru Police Division and a mosque in the town.
Leadership checks revealed that the displaced persons were those whose apartments were destroyed during the skirmishes.
A cleric in the area, Malam Ahmed Mohammed, said that women and children were evacuated to the area for protection. According to him, food, drugs, mats and blankets were needed to protect the victims from hunger, cold and diseases.
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"Also contributing, the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, noted with regret that Jos, which was preferred by non-indigenes for settlement, has no difference now with Somalia and Afghanistan."
What does Jos have in common with Somalia and Afghanistan ? Why is there anarchy in those countries? Why are those countries exporting terrorism to the rest of the world? Why are they backward and uncivilized?
The answers:
Moslems !
Radical Islam !!
Moslems !!!
Islam !!!!
We cannot pretend we don't know the source of our troubles. Luckily they can easily be confined to an enclave. Like cancer, if it is not properly treated, it will metastize. It will spread to a stage where it is incurable. Now it is Jos. Tomorrow, if drastic actions are not taken, it will be the whole country. Nigeria will become like Somali, Afghanistan or present day Pakistan. Who wants that ??? I guess only the Sharia states. We must say NO to them. We must EXCIZE them from Nigeria.
Now is the time to think of post-EXCISION period. How do we handle the cancer the day after? Please make your contributions here or send them to the e-mail address excisionist(at)gmx.com. Focus should be on how to help those non-Moslems trapped within the enclave, both indigenes and non-indigenes, how to safely repatriate those northern Moslems who will find themselves within the new Nigeria and how to move the cancer free country into the modern world.
Greetings from Copenhagen
excisionist(at)gmx.com
On the 2nd of May, 2004, over 660 poor Muslims were massacred in cold-blood, under the direct instructions and auspices of the (Christian Association of Nigeria, or C.A.N. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelwa_massacre); Last year (2009)during by-elections, over Seven Hundred Defenceless Muslims (including children in their Islamic Nursery School Classrooms) were gruesomely murdered in same city of Jos; two Months ago, over three hundred Innocent Muslims were hacked to death (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100309/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence#mwpphu -post-form). I mean, and so it has always been in Plateau State since 1992! These people (Christians, especially those in Plateau State) seem to crave the passion for hating and killing anything Islamic-just for the fun of it! AND NO ONE CARED TIL NOW??? WHERE WAS THE WHOLE WORLD WHEN THE OTHER SIDE (THE MUSLIMS) WERE BEING MAIMED AND KILLED??? CAN ANYONE BE A LI'L RATIONAL PLEASE!!!!! NO ONE IS SAYING THE KILLINGS ARE ANY GOOD, BUT P-L-E-A-S-E!!!!!!!
I think Nigeria should depart.............. that will be the solution
On the 2nd of May, 2004, over 660 poor Muslims were massacred in cold-blood, under the direct instructions and auspices of the (Christian Association of Nigeria, or C.A.N. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelwa_massacre); Last year (2009)during by-elections, over Seven Hundred Defenceless Muslims (including children in their Islamic Nursery School Classrooms) were gruesomely murdered in same city of Jos; two Months ago, over three hundred Innocent Muslims were hacked to death(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100309/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence#m wpphu-post-form). I mean, and so it has always been in Plateau State since 1992! These people (Christians, especially those in Plateau State) seem to crave the passion for hating and killing anything Islamic-just for the fun of it! AND NO ONE CARED TIL NOW??? WHERE WAS THE WHOLE WORLD WHEN THE OTHER SIDE (THE MUSLIMS) WERE BEING MAIMED AND KILLED??? CAN ANYONE BE A LI'L RATIONAL PLEASE!!!!! NO ONE IS SAYING THE KILLINGS ARE ANY GOOD, BUT P-L-E-A-S-E!!!!!!!
I advise people to just watch what they say here, because some people have already started a smear campaign against Muslims and Islam. Look, no one of the over 70 Million Muslim community in this Country - and the largest community in the Nation for that matter, would stand that. NO! Yeah? Islam teaches TERRORISM, huh?? Well, I guess same can be said of Christianity, or even worse! Otherwise someone should explain to us Muslims, what ideology taught THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY in Uganda, to carry out their barbaric acts of forceful recruitment and abduction of children into their forces, raping of women of all ages, maiming, robbery, arson and all that stuff. AND ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (?)!! Yes, and who also taught HITLER to slaughter about 4 Million Jews? Same goes to the IRA of Northern Ireland, the FAQ of Colombia, and so on and so on.... IF YOU AND INDEED ANYONE WITH YOUR KIND OF INTELLECTUALLY-BANKRUPT, HATE IDEOLOGY DON'T HAVE THE GUTS (AND I BET YOU DON'T) TO OWN UP AND ADMIT IT'S CHRISTIANITY THAT INSPIRED THESE CHRISTIAN GROUPS MENTIONED ABOVE, TO PARPETRATE THEIR DEVILISH DEEDS, THEN YOU AND YOUR KIND GOT TO SHUT THAT STINKING HOLE ON YOUR LOWER FACE!! NO ONE IN THE WORLD CAN MURDER TRUE ISLAM IN NIGERIA, AND THAT'S BEEN THEIR FUTILE AGENDA! IF TERROR WAS WHAT ISLAM TAUGHT US, AND EVERYONE KNOWS NIGERIAN MUSLIMS ARE PRACTICING MUSLIMS, I DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD HAVE PRACTICED ANY OTHER RELIGION IN THE COUNTRY TODAY... AGAIN, PEOPLE SHOULD WATCH WHAT THEY SAY HERE OR JUST SHUT UP!!!!! ADMIN SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR PEOPLE LIKE THAT FACE-OF-THE-DEVIL AND MAKE SURE ALL POSTS OF HATE LIKE THESE ARE INSTANTLY DELETED.
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