Jos Crisis; Muslim Ummah reacts to police hasty conclusion

Muslim Community in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State has condemned what it described as hasty and false statement accredited to the plateau state police commissioner Mr Greg Ayanting that some Muslim youths where responsible for the renewed crises in jos which claimed the lives of over twenty five persons

A press statement issued by the Jos north Muslim Ummah signed by Sani Mudi said the statement made by the police commissioner was unfortunate saying that it clearly shows the commissioner’s bias against the Muslim Ummah even as the investigation has not ascertained the actual cause of the crises.

He said for the police commissioner to contradict himself by saying that the crisis was caused by some Muslim youths when he said the police are yet to ascertain the cause of the crisis was ridiculous and unacceptable to the Muslim community.

According to him, information available to the council indicated that the crisis started when a man whose house was vandalized and destroyed during the November 28 jos crisis wanted to renovate the house but was prevented from doing so by some angry, unidentified Christian youths.

He said, report of massive armed attack on the Muslim inhabitants of Rikkos Mai Damisa,Dogon Dutse, Unguwan Keke and Duala junction by armed Christian militias backed by some army and mobile personnel.

Mudi who is also the former vice chairman of Jos north local government council further explained that security personnel were seeing supporting the Christian militias who moved about in the dreaded Hilux Toyota pick-up van recording what they are doing on a camera with a joy and excitement.

According to him, within minutes, a crisis that started in Dutse Uku at the nose of the police spread to other areas and Christian youths armed with dangerous weapons including sophisticated guns attacked the Muslim laborers working in the house of one Kabiru Mohammad who wanted to rebuild his property after the last crisis in the state.

The statement added that two of them namely Safiyanu Abubakar and another unidentified person were instantly killed, adding that so far sixteen Muslim dead bodies have been taken to the jos central mosque by their relations while thirty five others are receiving treatments of various degrees of injuries mostly of gun shots.

He further said that about one hundred and fifty women and children are now taking shelters at jos central mosque even as sporadic shootings are still been heard in the state metropolis particularly at the affected areas.

In an interview with the owner of the house where the crisis started, Alhaji Mohammad Kabiru told new Nigeria that on November 28, 2008 his house was burnt at Dutse Uku Nassarawa Gwong which he was unable to rebuild since but considering the fact that peace has gradually returned to the state capital, he made effort to reconstruct the house but that he was prevented from doing so.

According to him, because the work was enormous he hired laborers on Sunday 17th of January 2010 to carry out the work, while the reconstruction was on progress, some Christian youths started stoning the driver of a tipper bringing sand to the site, a minute after that, as if it was planned, the youths appeared from all angles with dangerous weapons to carry out their attack.

He said, as he was trying to settle the scuffle, the Christian youths mobilized in large number approaching the site, “immediately I rushed to Yan-trailer to invite soldiers that are stationed there permanently, but before I reached there I saw them coming, they were already informed and we met on the way then we returned back to the site, then the indigenous people said that we should stop the work, that they do not want any Muslim to come back to that area,”

According to Alhaji Kabiru when the soldiers intervened some Christian youths in the area insisted that the work must be stopped, adding that at that moment the soldiers asked the workers to stop the work and leave but when they are about leaving, the next thing was an attack on them by the hoodlums who called themselves Christians.

Alhaji Kabiru pointed out that there was no Muslim who has returned to the area after the last crisis in 2008 except one person who repair his house during the Ramadan fast saying that he has not encroached on anybody’s land because he was there for more than twenty years and nobody ever complained about him or anything.

Also appealing to the Muslim Ummah in the state to desist from anything that could further escalate the trouble, the chief imam of jos central mosque Sheikh Balarabe Daud, said that fighting is not a good thing and it will not bring any development to the state urging the people to stay in their houses and stop peddling rumors that are capable of generating more tension in the state.

He also warned that people should also avoid spreading dangerous rumors among the followers of the two religions saying that they should accept the crisis as an act of God.