So that Jos May Stop Burning

​Yet, again it happened. Jos boils again. Every time there is relative peace in Jos, it is always that of a graveyard, because you know it will not last.

Recently, I revisited the Justice Niki Tobi panel report, and it reads more like foretelling the present. Going through that report, one is struck by the tragedy of its neglect.

Palm Sunday’s violence followed a familiar pattern. Gunmen stormed a community in Jos North, killing scores of residents in a night attack. Witnesses described attackers arriving on motorcycles, shooting indiscriminately. No group has claimed responsibility. But the context is not new.

These attacks sit within a long-running cycle of violence in Plateau, driven by a toxic mix of ethnic tensions and religious fault lines.

The Niki Tobi panel identified two immediate triggers of the 2001 crisis- a confrontation involving a woman named Rhoda at Congo-Russia during Juma’at prayers, and the controversial appointment of Mukhtar as NAPEP coordinator in Jos North. The panel was also clear that those were only sparks. The real fire had long been burning.

Beneath those incidents lay deep-rooted tensions of indigene versus settler disputes, competing claims over land ownership, religious intolerance, ethnic suspicion, and a dangerous accumulation of unresolved grievances. The same issues that drove the 1994 crisis were still alive in 2001 and remain with us today! Nothing changed because nothing was really resolved.

Perhaps most damning was the panel’s finding that previous reports had been ignored, particularly the Fibreisima report of 1994. That earlier panel had been constituted following unrest triggered by the appointment of Aminu Mato as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Jos North Local Government. Yet history repeated itself.

The Niki Tobi panel further warned that failure to implement recommendations was “a sure recipe for a repeat performance.”

The panel called for accountability. Individuals and groups identified as instigators or participants in the violence were to be investigated and prosecuted. Impunity, it warned, would only embolden future offenders. Over 100 individuals were named. Yet, what became of them? Were they properly tried? Did anyone face real consequences?

One particularly troubling case was that of the then Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Alhaji M.D. Abubakar. He was accused of failing in his duties and allegedly displaying bias in the protection of places of worship in a conflict already defined by religious tensions. The panel recommended his retirement or dismissal if he refused. Instead, he remained in service and eventually rose to become Inspector-General of Police. What message does that send?

It is noteworthy that close to 1000 people died and properties worth over N3 billion at the time, were destroyed.

Beyond accountability, the panel also recommended structural fixes to recurring flashpoints. The blocking of public roads for religious activities, one of the triggers of violence, was to be banned and enforced. Is that the case today? I hear it’s not.

The commission also addressed the role of inflammatory messaging, calling for regulation of loudspeakers and curbing the use of religious platforms to incite violence. If anything, this problem has worsened. It highlighted the need to rein in groups and associations that thrive on ethnic and religious confrontation, recommending sanctions, including suspension or proscription where necessary.

It recommended the indiscriminate construction of places of worship in residential areas of Jos and other towns is stopped.  Yet, they have multiplied, from what I gathered

It pointed to institutional failure, especially weak policing capacity and poor intelligence response, and called for better equipping and preparedness of security agencies. Decades later, those same deficiencies remain. The case for state policing now appears increasingly urgent.

Most importantly, the report underscored what many avoid saying plainly- the indigene-settler divide is at the heart of the crisis. Competing claims of ownership, identity, and belonging continue to poison relationships and fuel violence.

Until this is addressed peace will remain fragile.

So what must be done now?

Government must do what it has consistently failed to do – implement. Not announce panels. Not write white papers. Implement!

Justice must be seen and felt. Prosecutions must follow violence.

Political leaders must stop weaponizing identity for short-term gains. Also, every appointment should be made with sensitivity in deeply divided communities.

Religious leaders (across the country) must take responsibility for the tone and influence of their platforms. Words spoken from pulpits and minarets have consequences.

And the people- Berom, Hausa-Fulani, Afizere, Anaguta; Christians and Muslims alike must confront a hard truth- coexistence is not optional. It is the only path.

Unless we finally confront the root causes religiously, Jos will continue to be Jos.

Chiechefulam Ikebuiro,

Chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com