12th November, 2018
PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC FLAYS GOV LALONG FOR BEGGING THE ARMY
The governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong last week Monday, 7th
November, 2018, led a delegation of people to Army Headquarters, Abuja, to beg
the Nigerian Army not to avenge the gruesome murder of the former Army Chief of
Administration, General Muhammad Idris Alkali (rtd) allegedly by some Berom elements.
Sequel to this development, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has decried
both the visit and the appeal made to the army, describing it as hypocritical.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the human rights organization
on Monday, 12th November, 2018. The statement was signed by its
director and founder, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
“While
we affirm that Lalong’s visit and his appeal to the army is an admission of
guilt, we contend that would have been meaningful if he had also visited the
Fulani community and the Muslim leaders in his state to express the same
sentiment. He left those poor, weak and oppressed people back home in Jos to
beg the army hundreds of kilometers away in Abuja. What kind of leader is this?
“It is hypocrisy of the highest order. Just like the Berom women who tried
in vain to deceive the world by protesting at the Dura Du pond, Lalong too is
acting.
“Mr.
Governor sir, under your watch, a whole general was hacked to death. Under your
watch, a whole general was humiliated, probably tortured, dehumanized, killed,
buried in a shallow grave and exhumed again.
“Under
your watch, the dead general’s body was stuffed in a sack laden with stones and
dumped in a narrow deep well to keep him below forever so the crime would never
be uncovered. Why are you the chief security officer of the state?
“Under your watch, no single Fulani or Muslim traveler from any part of
the country is allowed to pass through your roads alive. They are, profiled,
identified, dragged out, brutally killed and dumped in ponds of death. And this
continued for years! Your apology is empty. It is devoid of humanity. You are
simply acting.This matter is beyond the Alkali affair. It is beyond the army.
You cannot trivialize genocide against Fulanis and religious cleansing against
Nigerian Muslims just by pretending to apologise to the army. General Alkali is
not the only human being among the Fulanis. All Fulanis are complete human
beings with red blood flowing in their veins.
“Your
Excellency, where were you when about 500 Berom women were staging the hocus
pocus they called a protest against soldiers attempting to evacuate Dura Du
pond in their search for the late general? Where were you when the Nigerian
press was being mobilized to smear the good reputation of the same Nigerian
Army? We are surprised that the same women are now silent.
“Mrs Rebecca Gyang who led about 500 women in black clothes
with some of them half-naked to protest against the draining of water from Dura
Du old mining pond on the false excuse that its evacuation would cause calamity
of mysterious deaths and other misfortunes for their communities is said to be
the wife of Pam Gyang Dung, the Mai Unguwa of Latiya in Du. That is instructive.
“What happens when a traditional chieftain of a people instructs his wife
to divert the attention of investigators of a heinous crime by leading such a
protest? What should we expect when the state information unit mobilizes the
press to give such a diabolical protest full coverage? Both the paramount ruler
of Berom, Gbong Gwom Jos and an ex-governor of the state, Senator David Jonah
Jang, are from Du District where the killings have been taking place. Neither
of them has condemned the killing of General Alkali. Who is Lalong deceiving? This
is another strong evidence of the whole community’s involvement in the
killings.
“What Lalong failed to realize is that this has gone beyond the killing of
an army general. It is about a Fulani army general and thousands of Fulani men
and women, including Muslims from all parts of the country who have been mowed
down by blood-thirsty Berom killers. The truth is that genocide has been
committed against Fulanis and Muslims. There is indubitable evidence of ethnic
and religious cleansing. It is a heinous crime and no official state jamboree
can extenuate that crime against humanity.
“While governor Lalong is pretending to beg, his kinsmen are threatening
fire and brimstone. They are grandstanding. What do we call the vituperations
of Da Iliya Choji Kim, Vice President of Berom Educational and Cultural
Organisation (BECO), against the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
(NSCIA), the Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI) and MURIC? What do we call his attack
on Professors Salisu Shehu and Ishaq Akintola.? Why is he personalising the crisis?
What did Lalong say about the safety of Fulanis and Muslims who ply that axis
in future? Nothing was mentioned about guarantee for their safety. Beroms have
not shown any remorse.
“Lalong
got it wrong. The process of forgiveness necessitates admission of guilt,
showing remorse, a readiness to ensure redress and an undertaking not to repeat
the offence again. None of these has taken place. Lalong’s visit is therefore a
cowardly act. He and his kith and kin can bully the poor and weak Fulanis and
Muslims in his domain, but they lack the balls to face the consequences of
their actions.
“If
the pretentious demonstration of half-naked Berom women could not distract the
army from evacuating Dura Du pond in search of their missing general, Lalong’s
crocodile tears in army headquarters cannot deceive them. This is a well-trained
and highly disciplined formation.
“The atrocity has been going on for about 17 (seventeen) years, at least
since 2001. Crime has the propensity to hide its prolification. It is only
criminologists who know that for every single crime uncovered, there must have
been more than a dozen others which went undetected. The fact that other
vehicles were found under the pond with that of the general lends credence to
this point. The late General Alkali must be recognized as a martyr. He laid
down his life in order to expose the crimes committed by the Beroms against his
people, the Fulanis and Nigerian Muslims.
“For instance, the truth about the disappearance of Alhaji Lawal Isa, a
Fulani land agent, who went missing in Du District in 2013, would never have
been known but for the Alkali affair. Alhaji Lawal Isa was the owner of the Red
Rover found in Du pond with Bauchi plate number AG 645 TRR. He was allegedly tricked
by Da Chuwang, the Village Head of Du to visit the area on the pretense that
they wanted to buy land from him. He and a friend who accompanied him on the
trip were in Du on January 31, 2013. It is noteworthy that the discoveries were
made in only one pond (Dura Du pond) and there are about 80 (eighty) others!
Who knows how many dead bodies lie below them? It is nostalgic. We contend that
thousands had been killed and dumped in the ponds even before 2013.
MURIC vowed to take the matter to international agencies if the Nigerian
authorities fail to take necessary action. According to Akintola, “The
International Criminal Court (ICC) may have to be brought into this matter of
organized genocide, ethnic and religious cleansing against Fulanis and Muslims
in the Middle Belt if justice is not obtainable locally. Joshua Dariye
allegedly swore to make Plateau the headquarters of Christianity when he was
governor and he made good his pledge. The alleged training of militia in Israel
and the massive smuggling of arms and ammunition into Plateau State in the past
ten years could not have been without the knowledge of Jonah Jang and Lalong.
“For
an enduring settlement, Governor Lalong must swallow his pride. He must mobilize
leaders of the Berom community, apologise to General Alkali’s family and meet
Fulani leaders in the state in a free and sincere dialogue. A Plateau Truth
Commission may not be out of place for a genuine and lasting solution to the
ever recurring Plateau crisis. Lalong will be joking if he thinks he can get
away with this heinous crime merely by apologizing to the army. Apology my
foot! Fulanis and Muslims are human beings too.
Before we round off, we reiterate our condemnation of Governor Lalong’s
hypocritical apology expressed to the army. We demand justice for the wanton,
callous and ultra-criminal killing of General Alkali (rtd), thousands of
Fulanis and other Nigerian Muslims. We call for the arrest, detention and
prosecution of the sponsors of Berom killers. We assert that we will not hesitate
to take this matter to the ICC if there is any attempt to limit the
investigations to General Alkali’s murder alone or to sweep the whole issue
under the carpet. This matter is beyond Alkali, beyond the military.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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