RE: JOS HISTORY LECTURE SERIES

The Governor of Plateau State, Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos.

Your Excellency,

RE: Jos history lecture series

The history of Jos and Environments, pre, during and post colonial era.

1) The attention of BECO has been drawn to an advertised zoom lecture on the ownership of Jos to be convened by one Ibrahim Lawandi Datti scheduled to hold on the 1st November, 2020 at 10am.

2)Being the umbrella body of the Berom which is one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Jos, it has become necessary to also draw the attention of the Government and Security agencies to the Conference in view of its security implications.

The issue of the history and ownership of Jos has been settled and accepted by all peace loving people of Plateau State and Jos in particular. The Government itself has settled and accepted the reality of the history of Jos which is backed by Judicial decisions particularly of the Plateau high court. We shall elaborate briefly on this so as to lay bare the issues.

3)At least three duly constituted judicial commissions of inquiry in the course of time were established on various crises in Jos and they all made similar determinations on the crucial issue of the history and ownership of Jos. These are the Aribiton Fiberesima Report on the 1994 Jos crisis;

The Niki Tobi Report on the 2001 Jos crisis and

The Bola Ajibola Report on the 2008 Jos crisis.

There is a Fourth Document which is the Report of the Plateau

Peace Conference of 2004 which has relevant findings on the history and ownership of Jos.

Lastly, there Is the judgement of the Plateau High Court of Justice in the case of Agwom Atang Azi vs The Governor of Plateau State delivered in 2009.

4) All the Judicial Commissions were headed by eminent jurists of high Repute , one of whom was a Supreme Court Judge and the other a Former Judge of the World Court, who conducted open sittings in Jos and presented their, findings and recommendations to the State Government. It must also be stated that the Hausa and the Fulani among other citizens participated and made submissions to these Judicial Commissions. Though the Hausa/Fulani refused to appear before the Ajibola commission, but in it’s report, Ajibola Commission substantially agreed with the previous commission. All the three Commissions found that Jos has three indigenous ethnic groups namely, Afizere, Anaguta and Berom in that alphabetical order. They all found that the Hausa or any other ethnic group are not indigenous to Jos but qualify as citizens of Jos.

(5) The Plateau State Government already acted on the various commissions of inquiry Reports by issuing white papers which contain Government Views. The Whitepapers were all gazetted and sold to the public.

The implication of the gazettes is that the Government communicated its views to the public to the effect that it accepts the ownership of Jos by the three indigenous ethnic groups and that all other citizens of other ethnic groups are not indigenes of Jos.

(6)(A) PLATEAU RESOLVES/ FIBERESIMA WHITEPAPER

In the Plateau Resolves Gazette No 2 of 11th November, 2004, the conference Findings and recommendations which were duly accepted and assented to found as follows on pages 30-31: ‘’ The Conference observed that the 1999 constitution of the “Federal Republic of Nigeria in section 25(1) (a), clearly defined citizenship in Nigeria as every person born in Nigeria on or before the date of independence, either of whose parents or any of whose grand parents belongs or belonged to any community indigenous to Nigeria”.

Consequently, the Conference sampled various opinions as to what should constitute an ‘indigene ‘ and the following definitions were harmonized. Indigene ship should be peculiar to a people who are the first to have settled permanently in a particular area and who are often considered as ‘natives’.

Such people have rights to their Lands, their traditions and culture. The Conference cited the examples of the Australian ‘Aborigines ‘ .... They also endorsed the well articulated definition given by the Hon Justice J Aribiton Fiberesima ( Rtd) Commission of inquiry on Jos Riots of April 12 th 1994 ( page 25, item 3.1.4) in respect of who is an indigene of Jos to support their definition which states as follows: an indigene of Jos is one whose ancestors were natives of Jos beyond living memory. This does not include any person who may not remember from where his father or grand father left his native home for jos as a fixed home, domiciled there as of choice for life; or who is ignorant about from where his family moved to Jos permanently in quest of better living or in the process of his business ...In the light of the above consideration or careful thought, we concede to the claim of the Afizere, Anaguta and Berom Tribes and to declare that they are ‘’ indigenes ‘’ of Jos. But as to the Hausa - Fulani people’s assumption, we make bold on the evidence at our disposal, to advice them that they can only qualify as ‘’ citizens ‘’ of Jos...

(B) NIKI TOBI

The Plateau State Government whitepaper Report on the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the civil disturbances in Jos and its environs , September, 2001, at page 244 recommended thus,

“The Hausa - Fulani Community should be encouraged to dialogue with other communities and accept the ownership of Jos by the Afizeres, Anagutas and Beroms. Anything short of that will not make for peace”.

GOVERNMENT VIEW

Government accepts”

C) BOLA AJIBOLA

The Plateau State Government whitepaper on Report of the Judicial Commission of inquiry into the November 28, 2008 unrest in Jos and Environs at pages 172-173 contains as follows:

‘The Commission noted the existence of a number of previous commissions of inquiry that had rendered Reports to the State Government ... The Commission drew a lot from these Reports as they were often referred to in several memoranda and also particularly because some had the benefit of representations from the Hausa/ Fulani as well as the Muslim communities within Plateau State ...The Commission recommends:

1) A publication of previous reports of commissions of inquiry , the issuance of Government white papers based on the reports and the gazette of the same.

Government view

Government accepts”

 All the above were given a judicial seal of approval by the Plateau state high court in the case of Agwom Atang Azi and 1 other vs The Governor of Plateau State and 4 others ( PLD / J 334 / 2003 delivered by  Y B Nimpar ( as she then was) 

on the 13th February, 2009 at page 22 thus

 ‘’ Another established fact is that the 3 tribes of Berom, Anaguta and Afizere are the indigenous tribes of Jos North . This was made out by the evidence of all the witnesses, also by exhibit 2 which has the force of Law ‘’.

The exhibit 2 referred to is the Plateau Resolves of 2004 which is the Report of the peace conference of all the ethnic groups in plateau State.

CONCLUSION

In the light of all the foregoing conclusive and settled facts , the attempt by those who want to host that conference purportedly on the history of Jos is not only an unacceptable attempt to re write history but is a plan to plunge the city into chaos.                                                           

May we remind your Excellency, that the erudite jurist of blessed memory who was referred to as the Cicero of the Supreme Court, Hon Justice Niki Tobi had warned that ‘ the Hausa - Fulani Communities should be encouraged to dialogue with other communities and accept the ownership of Jos by the Afizeres, Anagutas and Beroms. Anything short of that will not make for peace.’’  

 Since the Government accepted that recommendation, it has become binding on the Government including the security agencies and all the people of Nigeria. To allow them to revisit that issue will be an affront to the Law and fray nerves which will not make for peace. 

Your Excellency may wish to appreciate that the efforts government and the security agencies have made at ensuring the sustenance of the relative peace Plateau State is enjoying must not be allowed to be sacrificed on the altar of the egos of those who do not want to give peace a chance and will do all to rubbish all such efforts for selfish reasons.

Please, accept the assurance of the good will of the Berom nation.

Da Gyang Dudu Dalyop

(President BECO)

CC

1. The Secretary to the State Govt

2. The Commissioner of Police, Plateau State

3. The Director, Department of State Security, Plateau State

4. The Commander, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Plateau State Command

5. The Commander Operation Safe Haven 

Above is for your information and necessary action, please.

Da Gyang Dudu Dalyop

( President BECO)