Jos: Army arrests 26 mercenaries with military uniforms
Islamic Group Faults Ajibola Panel
From Isa Abdulsalami, Jos

BARELY one month after the Jos crisis, 26 suspected mercenaries were yesterday arrested around Gengere/UTC area in Jos with army uniforms, sophisticated weapons, including 22 double barrel guns, eight cutlasses, army boots, tear gas canisters, charms and fake identity cards bearing 'Force Headquarters, Abuja'.




This came just as the Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) said yesterday that its members were not going to appear before the Chief Bola Ajibola Judicial Commission of Inquiry constituted recently by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State. The youth wing of the JNI has said that the state governor has no moral rights to constitute a commission of inquiry to investigate a crisis in which he was an active collaborator.

The suspected mercenaries were caught in a white HIACE 18-Seater Bus with inscription 'OKENE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, KOGI STATE, ' apparently to disguise and beat the security checkpoints around the area. Besides, another Toyota Corolla car with a Lagos State registration number, AE 403 BDG was also intercepted by the soldiers, but they said they were in transit to Bauchi State when the military men intercepted them at one of the many road blocks.

Also found with the suspects were Bauchi State Government letter-head papers, with a purported letter from the state government, requesting the release of vehicles for their operations.

Two of the suspects, Haruna Yahaya and Dahiru Usman, with fake 'Force Headquarters, Abuja ' I D who spoke with reporters said they were travelling from Kogi State to Bauchi.

They had been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department () of the Police Headquarters in Jos.

The Commander of Operations who is also the Garrison Commander, 3 Armoured Division Jos, Lt. Colonel Ufoma Macaulay, who confirmed the arrest shortly after handing over the suspects to the Police in Jos, stated the 26 suspects were arrested during curfew hours on Thursday.

He said the bus conveying them and another Toyota Camry car were flagged down at about 7:30pm during the curfew hours at UTC junction in Jos on Thursday.

According to him, the suspected mercenaries, excluding the ringleader were in uniforms, which resembled those of Mobile Police. He said they were ordered out of the vehicle to pave way for thorough search.

The commander stated that various deadly weapons, ranging from guns, charms, daggers, boots, assorted police uniforms, police identity cards, cutlasses and other weapons were recovered from them.

At the Police headquarters in Jos, the suspected mercenaries were paraded before members of the public before they were finally handed over to the Police for further interrogation to ascertain their mission.

However, the Police authority in Jos has declined comment on the arrest saying that it could only comment after its investigation.

Addressing a press conference in Jos yesterday, the JNI youth wing said since the crisis erupted in November last year, "Governor Jang has exhibited a high degree of partisanship, hatred and bias against the Hausa/Moslems."

According to them, the signal of separatism being allegedly canvassed by MASSOB and other ethnic nationalities across the country was gaining the support of Jang and asked if "they still believe in one indivisible Nigeria?"

Led by the secretary of the group, Ahmed Garba, JNI alleged that the governor and his aides had consistently accused the Moslems of starting the crisis thereby diverting the attention of the public from the truth. He said Moslems were uncomfortable with Jang setting up a judicial commission because the outcome was not likely to be impartial.

They insisted they would not appear before any commission set up by the governor, because he is a party in the crisis. The group said though they had respect for Prince Ajibola "after all is said and done, the report would go to the same Jang who could do whatever he likes with it".

JNI said the refusal of the governor to accept the commission set up by the Federal Government did not only confirm their belief in his involvement, "but equally shows that he has more skeleton in the cupboard than we know of."

According to them, in the current situation, the matter was between the state government and the Hausa Fulani, hence the only neutral appropriate and neutral arbiter is the Federal Government and the National Assembly, whose commission, they said, they would honour "as soon as the legal issues raised are cleared."

But the indigenes, who have also seen President Musa Yar'Adua as taking side with Hausas/Moslems have vowed not to appear at the commission the President has set up. They have challenged the legality of such a commission. According to them, it is only the state government that is conferred with the legal right to set up a commission to investigate a matter that concerns the state.

They also expressed fears that with the role played by the head of the panel set up by the Federal Government, Major General Emmanuel Abisoye (rtd), in the trial and elimination of prominent Plateau sons in the military during the Dimka coup of 1976, a re-play of injustice might be seen. According to them, most of those sentenced to death by the Abisoye military trial panel were innocent of the offences for which they were killed. And the agony is still very fresh in their minds.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/3/16.html