Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang has dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court for setting up a panel of inquiry to probe the November 28 sectarian riots that engulfed the state over the local government election in Jos North.
Over 300 people were reportedly killed in the riots, while properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.
In a suit that seeks to properly define the nation’s federal system, Jang is asking the apex court for clarification on the power of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to institute a probe into the causes of the riots.
President Yar’Adua had last week set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to probe the crisis. He appointed Major-General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd) as chairman of the panel.
Filed on behalf of the state, Jang invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in matters between states and the Federal Government.
He asked the court to stop the President from constituting a panel of inquiry to sit or continue to sit as a body with power to inquire into the civil unrest that occurred in Jos on November 28, 2008.
After filing the suit, the state also wrote a letter to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa.
The letter entitled, “Demand for Respect for Rule of Law,” called on the AGF to advise the President to follow the path of rule of law, which he had made one of his seven-point agenda.
Jang said in the letter: “We have no doubt that upon reading this letter and the processes attached, you would, in your characteristic manner, find it the least service you owe to the rule of law to advise the defendants to tread the path of the rule of law and direct the chairman and members of the administrative panel mentioned above not to sit or function until the Supreme Court will have determined the case.”
Following the originating summons filed by his counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation is also joined in the suit.
In the suit, the governor is specifically asking the apex court to declare that Yar’Adua has no power under the constitution or the Tribunal of Inquiry Act, 1966 (now to be found in Cap T21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) to constitute a tribunal or appoint any person or group of persons by whatever name called to inquire into the civil unrest that occurred in Jos.
He further asked the court to hold that the power to constitute a tribunal to inquire into the civil unrest, which occurred in Plateau State in November, 2008 is a residual mater in respect of which only the state’s House of Assembly is competent to make law vide Section 4(7) of the 1999 Constitution.
Consequently, he asked the court to grant an injunction restraining the Federal Government from setting up a tribunal to inquire into the Jos crisis.
He also sought an injunction restraining the Federal Government and its agents from directing anyone or a body of persons from sitting or continuing to sit as a tribunal purporting to be acting under the Tribunal of Enquiry Act to inquire into the civil unrest or disturbance that occurred in Jos.
In an affidavit sworn to by the Director of Civil Litigation in the Plateau State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Florence Lotben, and attached to the originating summons, the state said since Yar’Adua was not investigating any Federal Government employee, he had no power to poke his nose into a crisis involving residents of Jos North Local Government Area of the state.
Lotben said: “The right or power to conduct any inquiry into the said Jos crisis of 28th November 2008 belongs exclusively to the Plateau State Government as a residual matter.
“The act of the Federal Government in setting up the said administrative panel of inquiry into the said Jos crisis is calculated to usurp the constitutional power vested in the Plateau State Government for reasons best known to the Federal Government.”
Jang stated that Yar’Adua did not consult him before setting up the administrative panel even though the panel so set up would investigate events that took place within Jang’s domain and jurisdiction.
Pending the time the apex court will hear the originating summons, Fagbemi has filed a motion on notice seeking for an order preserving the res in the case by orders of interlocutory injunction restraining the Federal Government and its agents from further taking any steps capable of giving effect to the announcement by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, that the commission of inquiry into the Jos crisis had been set up.
The lawyer, also in the interim, asked the court to stop the Federal Government from accepting the report of the recommendations of the commission and that if the recommendations had been accepted, to stop the Federal Government from acting on them.
Other members of the panel set up by the President are Mr. Festus Okoye, Ambassador G.B. Preware and Ambassador Fati Sa’ad Abubakar, while Alhaji Musa Shafi’l was appointed as Secretary.
The terms of reference of the panel among others are to look into the cause or causes of the crisis, identify those responsible for the crisis and make recommendations on how to avert future re-occurrence.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=131831


does he have anything to cover?

Its Plateau State Vs FG again,

[center]^{Do I smell Dariye style 'state of emergency'?} [/center]

fun ra won ni won ma fun ira won logun je.

i hate to write this but, why be say when they kill "xtain" enmass we no go see serious probe e.g all the kano riots and in bauchi but if they massacre moslems some topshot "christains" must pay e.g zango-kataf, dariye.

@superboi
That is one nigeria for you

Jang is a sophist
Why this guy is panic? Why C.A.N. and it parastatals are fabricating stories and relate it Muslims??
Their mission is to wipe Hausa and Muslims so to deposit themselves in Jos. If u luk at plateau state is predominantly xtian. Why is it Jos North alwez matter?? Apparently all this antics start when civilian took power. Why not During Juntas?? So basically the riotees are not after religion in other way rather they obscure their mission with faith. God forbid. Jang and his fraternities ( C.A.N.) are the brain behind the myhem.
The real fact Haus are beyond settlers in Jos North, specifically entire Jos city. Start from Rikkos to Unguwan Rimi, Nassarawa, idi mai Borkono, Ali kazaure, sarki arab street, Dogon Agogo, Dilimi, farar Gada. Etc

Why is it alwayz the mission we should not allowed them to rule us?? Are they not citizen of plateau?? Are they not the economic background of Jos north?
Lets be realistic, lets not be iconoclasts.
May God bless Nigeria

Abu-Maryam:

Jang is a sophist
Why this guy is panic? Why C.A.N. and it parastatals are fabricating stories and relate it Muslims??
Their mission is to wipe Hausa and Muslims so to deposit themselves in Jos. If u luk at plateau state is predominantly Christian. Why is it Jos North alwez matter?? Apparently all this antics start when civilian took power. Why not During Juntas?? So basically the riotees are not after religion in other way rather they obscure their mission with faith. God forbid. Jang and his fraternities ( C.A.N.) are the brain behind the myhem.
The real fact Haus are beyond settlers in Jos North, specifically entire Jos city. Start from Rikkos to Unguwan Rimi, Nassarawa, idi mai Borkono, Ali kazaure, sarki arab street, Dogon Agogo, Dilimi, farar Gada. Etc

Why is it alwayz the mission we should not allowed them to rule us?? Are they not citizen of plateau?? Are they not the economic background of Jos north?
Lets be realistic, lets not be iconoclasts.
May God bless Nigeria

@ Abu maryam

You are highly dilusioned .

Abu-Maryam:

Jang is a sophist
Why this guy is panic? Why C.A.N. and it parastatals are fabricating stories and relate it Muslims??
Their mission is to wipe Hausa and Muslims so to deposit themselves in Jos. If u luk at plateau state is predominantly Christian. Why is it Jos North alwez matter?? Apparently all this antics start when civilian took power. Why not During Juntas?? So basically the riotees are not after religion in other way rather they obscure their mission with faith. God forbid. Jang and his fraternities ( C.A.N.) are the brain behind the myhem.
The real fact Haus are beyond settlers in Jos North, specifically entire Jos city. Start from Rikkos to Unguwan Rimi, Nassarawa, idi mai Borkono, Ali kazaure, sarki arab street, Dogon Agogo, Dilimi, farar Gada. Etc

Why is it alwayz the mission we should not allowed them to rule us?? Are they not citizen of plateau?? Are they not the economic background of Jos north?
Lets be realistic, lets not be iconoclasts.
May God bless Nigeria

No, Hausas are no more citizens of Plateau than Igbos/Yorubas are citizens of Kano and Katsina states while leaving inside their Sabon Gari quarters. I see how much you miss the military juntas and their Hausa supremecy ideologies.

abu-maryam as much as people like me are almost really nigerian(went to primary,secondary&university all with the word federal in their name and lived in federal government houses the 1st 25yrs of my live)the truth is we have not really yet defined this nation/country/federation/confederation(take ur pick) we call nigeria.can an igbo whose a christain become a chairman in kano lga(if though he contributes more economically in kano in capital terms than the hausa does in jos north)?no,the igboman wouldn't even contest yet because he knows he would just be causing problems.i think the hausa muslims should just leave jos north for now till we can really define this our nation/country/federation/confederation,we live in.

wonders will never end.
this mudafucka definately has smthin to hide!
Jang,might even have been the mastermind of the whole thin.
The FG should get to the root of the matter.

Going through the article, seems the governor is trying to get back at the president for not consulting him before setting up this panel. Legally, it makes sense that he makes sure the president understood who has power to do what. I, however, hope that he is doing this for the good of the people and not just for his ego. No where in the article is it mentioned that he has done any probing into the events of November 28 himself, nor does it mention him having any plans to set up a committee to do such.

superboi:

i hate to write this but, why be say when they kill "xtain" enmass we no go see serious probe e.g all the kano riots and in bauchi but if they massacre moslems some topshot "christains" must pay e.g zango-kataf, dariye.

You have hit the nail on the head !

Every crime should be investigated,but the views of both sides of the divide tell it all:

Once Christians are slaughtered in the North,you never see any high powered federal govt panel,but once 'they' are at the receiving end,you get things like state of emergency(courtesy mumu OBJ) and the like.

This is the point I have been trying to make,no one is pointing fingers ,but until we really sit down and tell ourselves some truth . . . .  . . . .  . .

Abu maryam,Muza,please tell me:
Where are the killers of the teacher in bauchi(or Gombe)?
Where ae the killers of the Christians in Borno?
Was there a Fed Govt probe of Kaduna,Kano,Gombe,Maiduguri,Sokoto,Bauchi riots of  2000-2007?

Muza:

wonders will never end.
this mudafucka definately has smthin to hide!
Jang,might even have been the mastermind of the whole thin.
The FG should get to the root of the matter.

Now, you're talking like Yar'dua. The governor's only crime seems to be only one thing; being a Christian! All you need to do is read Daily Trust news commentaries laying the blame of the riot at the feet of the governor. The whole World know the governor was not responsible for the Jos riots of the past(2001, 2006--I think), and he was not responsible for the riots in Bauchi, Kano, Gombe, Kaduna, etc.
The issue here is the constitionality of Yar'dua's biased commision of inquiry, not whether anyone has anything to hide.

Here's an update from today:

Jos Crisis: Gov Jang Dares Yar’Adua, Sets Up Parallel Panel
E-MAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR PDF VERSION XML VERSION TXT version



> As crowd besiege prison yard
Achor Abimaje Jos
December 31st, 2008



Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State yesterday dared President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua over the recent Jos North crisis, when he constituted another six-man committee to probe the crisis.

In a statement yesterday by the Director of Press to the state governor, James Mannok, the one time attorney general of the federation and a former judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), is to head the six-member committee.

Other members are Reginia Abang; barrister Daniel Gopet; Professor A.T Yaya; retired ACP Napoleon Timkat while Mr M.T Falle is to serve as secrestary. According to the statement, the general public is assured that justice would be done by the commission of inquiry which is made up of people of proven integrity and international repute.

The recent panel created by President Yar'Adua was said not to have gone down well with the governor who vehemently kicked against it. His reason was that the Federal Government had no constitutional power to do so.

This is coming at a time the government of Plateau State has defended its decision to drag federal government before the supreme court over the legality of President Umaru Ya'adua to institute an administrative probe panel Headed by Major General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd) to probe the recent sectarian civil disturbances in some parts of Jos North,pointing out that its action is to make sure that the People of the state are not treated as second class citizens in their own fathers' land.

The state commissioner of information and communication Mr Nuhu Gagara in an interview with newsmen in Jos over the action of Plateau state insisted that the Plateau state government is interested in the Supreme Court interpretation of the provisions of the law over who has the power between the state and the Federal Government to carry out an investigation or probe an event that happened in some parts of a local government in a given state in Nigeria.

According to him, the state government was not comfortable with the way and manner President Ya'adua and his wife had treated the people and Plateau government over the November 28 Jos North civil disturbances, lamenting that most of the federal delegations that Yar'Adua sent to Jos over the recent crisis did not visit the governor as the chief security officer of the state to get first hand information from him, but rather went on their own to visit selected locations and had discussions with the leaders of Hausa community only before returning back to Abuja to present one sided report to the President.

In his words " We can not be treated as second class citizens in our own country by any body, the rule of law must be followed on who between Governor Jang and Yar'Adua has the constitutional power to set up probe panel in Jos North civil disturbances''

According to him, President Yar'Adua should realise that when his kinsmen the Hausa community rejected him during his presidential campaign visit to Jos in 2007 and teamed up with one of the opposition party with presidential candidate from his home state, Katsina, Governor Jang mobilised the indigeneous Plateau people to give him overwhelmingly votes from the state, insisting that Plateau people deserve better treatment than what they are getting in return from the Federal Government under the present dispensation.

Commenting on the headship of the probe panel, Gagara said the role of Major- General Abisoye in the trial and elimination of prominent Plateau sons in the military in Colonel Dimka coup of 1976 is still fresh in the minds of Plateau people, saying most of those that were sentenced to death and executed by Abisoye military trials were innocent of the offences for which they were sentenced.

The commissioner also faulted the one sided constitution of that panel by the Federal Government without any recourse to any imput from the governor and government of Plateau State,warning that Plateau people would want the Federal Government to practice the rule of law as it should be to all concerned.

Meanwhile, thousands of families of those who were arrested during the Jos mayhem are besieging the Jos prison yard to see their love ones and bread winners who are being detained there in connection with the violence crises that engulfed part of Jos north local government council of the plateau state capital recently.

LEADERSHIP

investigation revealed that a mamoth crowd comprising of men, women and children are daily storming the Jos prison yard where the alledged rioters of November 28, 2008 detained pending when investigation into their individual and collective role in the Jos mayhem are completed.

During LEADERSHIP visits to the Jos prison yard yesterday morning, a large crowd of families were seen completing application forms before the prison officials in a bid to see their loved ones who have not been seen since the Jos crises broke out.

Another category of families seen around the prison were those whose love ones are missing since the crises started. Since their dead bodies could not be found, they were presumed to have been arrested and detained.

They were also seeing completing application forms before the prison officials to enable officials go inside the yard to call out their names to know either there are among the detainees or dead.

A prison official who did not want his name in print told LEADERSHIP that a lot of families members have been thronging the prison yard on a daily bases, which prompted the prison authority to beefed up security around the prison premises.

Effort to the Plateau State Prison Public Relation Officer, Mrs. Gloria Tokoyi to commence on the upsurge of crowd at the prison yard and how there are coping proved unsuccessful as she was said to be away on official assignment out Jos.

LEADERSHIP

recalled that over 500 people including mercenaries from Chad and neighburing states were arrested by security operatives during the recent Jos mayhem and are being detained in Jos prison pending when investigation are completed before they could be charge to court.

Meanwhile the Chief of Defence Staff Air marshall Paul Dike has constituted a high powered military committee made up of military,Air force and the police headed by Major-General K.A Role primarily to review the jos North violence disturbances and the role of security agencies in the wake of the unrest in Jos North on November 28th last month.

The team leader, Major General Role made this disclosure at government House while paying a courtesy call on Governor Jang and members of his team who are billed to remain in Jos to meet with stakeholders in the conflict.

I DISLIKE THIS COUNTRY WITH GREAT INTENSITY.
how come people don't know when to sue.?
that GOVERNOR should be impeached, penalized, imprisoned and killed.
GodFinishTheFIGHT.

Abu maryam,Muza,please tell me:
Where are the killers of the teacher in bauchi(or Gombe)?
Where ae the killers of the Christians in Borno?
Was there a Fed Govt probe of Kaduna,Kano,Gombe,Maiduguri,Sokoto,Bauchi riots of 2000-2007?

@Muza or Abumaryam, Ps I want the answers to this.

Of all riots in Northern nigeria, Its the Xtian that gets probed. Has anyone here ever heard of the Zamani James Lekwot of the Zango Kataf or Joshua Dariye?

Where are the moslems that participated in the riot?

no comment.
i don tire 4 this country,
no positive news, like opening of resorts, commissioning of massive projects,
nothing at all. na dem sabi o
dem one sue 4 day, then 4 night dem go dey drink bear  together with their big bele.

it will be interesting to see how yaradua will respond, both jang and yaradua are at the extremes, the sultan was in jos a couple of days back and i dare say

@ FG probe panel is encrochment on the spheres of the state Governor, if there Jos crisis threatens national security as they would want us to believe, then such a panel should be set up in collaboration with the state government. But am sure FG just constituted the panel to slight the state authority. I saw another probe panel by the Nigerian Army on the same Jos issues yesterday. This kind of practices engender the spirit of a true federation btw the centre and the federating units. It is an abuse of presidential priviledges and powers.

@ FG probe panel is encrochment on the spheres of the state Governor, if there Jos crisis threatens national security as they would want us to believe, then such a panel should be set up in collaboration with the state government. But am sure FG just constituted the panel to slight the state authority. I saw another probe panel by the Nigerian Army on the same Jos issues yesterday. This kind of practices endanger the spirit of a true federation btw the centre and the federating units. It is an abuse of presidential priviledges and powers.

Why is gov against the panel,when he has not shown any sign of setting one himself.
Amid all the violence and the killings he wanted to swear in the local govt chair not until he was stopped by our ailing presido.
Like it or not,Jang has skeletons in his closet.
Time will tell.

What will time tell in nigeria? Has time told the people behind the genocide in kano, maiduguri, kaduna etc?

Where are the killers of the teacher in bauchi(or Gombe)?
Where ae the killers of the Christians in Borno?
Was there a Fed Govt probe of Kaduna,Kano,Gombe,Maiduguri,Sokoto,Bauchi riots of 2000-2007?

@Muza or Abumaryam, Ps I want the answers to this.

I'm a christian but can never be biased.my prime suspect in the jos riot will never cease being governor jang.the most indicting evidence is the announcement of results admist high volatility.sorry to say this but he needs to be investigated,tried and prosecuted for the death of hundreds of muslims and christians.

abagworo on what basis is jang your prime suspect? or shouldn't he have conducted election to lg? people 4 start to say he dey chop lga money. mr abagworo those people started to kill before the result was released and you blame the governor? the governor is not in control of the state commissiner of police but mr ill'will(yar'adua) so if anybody should be blamed it should be mr ill will, mr okiro,gen godwin abbey because this people are incharge of internal secruity and not old j.jang. please don't be sentimental because you want to be unbiased.

Superboi,even if he didnt do it deliberately,the situation was predictable and could ve been avoided.gov. Dariye never conducted an election in jos north.we all know that in nigeria indigenes always want to rule even when they are out numbered by settlers.

abagworo i suggest u go to jos and see who is dominate in terms of population figure before casting aspersions.and are u saying becos some people decide to be violent they should determine our lives? what do we pay the police for? it's after the crisis they come out with this cock and bull story that they gave jang warning.all this unstability they are causing in plateau is becos the people there are now realising they have to break out of the core north hegemony, and the only weapon the core north has and have always used is violence.its a complicated issue that cannot be jugded with mean emotions my broda.

Violence is the only language Hausa-Fulani people understand, and it's historical too. Remember Dan Fodio killing and overthrowing the Gobir king because "the king was not practising pure Islam" These people have practiced forcefull assimilation from time immemorial

Yar Adua should face his federal business and leave Jang to his state matters.