Plateau defends expelling Fulanis
Written by Andrew Agbese, Jos
Friday, 08 May 2009
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Governor Jonah Jang
The Plateau State government yesterday explained the circumstances that led to the expulsion of hundreds of migrant Fulanis from Wase Local Government Area, saying it was done because of the suspicious nature of the migrants and also to forestall crisis.

Information Commissioner Gregory Yenlong told a news conference in Jos that the Fulanis in question arrived in Jos after the sectarian crisis of November 2008. He said they came in trucks instead of on foot as Fulani nomads do, causing residents of the villages to raise an alarm.

Yenlong said the state government only assisted the Fulanis to return to where they came from since their arrival in Wase became a cause for concern for the people of the area.

“The facts available to government on the matter is that the migrant Fulanis came into Bashar axis of Wase LGA shortly after the November 28 crisis that affected some parts of Jos metropolis,” the commissioner said.

“Their arrival, which was in over 14 trucks, immediately attracted apprehension by the local residents who are predominantly Fulanis. Their fears were informed by the ugly experiences of 1984 where similar migrants were accommodated and turned out to engage in armed robbery and banditry. Other negative activities of the migrants led to disputation over farmlands with local farmers.

“You will agree that the arrival of these migrants shortly after the November 2008 crisis in some parts of Jos with suspicious intentions at a time the state was awash with rumour of people being hired to undertake violent attack in the state became even more worrisome.

“Given the volatility of Wase LGA, that has witnessed communal unrest and remaining a flash point, the arrival of the migrants in their hundreds became a matter of security concern to the immediate communities, traditional rulers and the local government council.

“On the strength of the above concerns, and to douse the emerging tension as well as avert any breakdown of law and order, the Plateau State Security Council in consultation with the traditional institution and the local government council, consented to the cry of the host communities for the migrant Fulanis to migrate to relocate back to where they came from.”

Chairman of Wase LGA Abubakar Mohammed Badu, who was at the news conference, said the deportation was not done on religious, ethnic or political basis but for the security of the local government.


http://www.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9452&Itemid=87

Plateau Denies Evacuation of Fulani Muslims


Plateau State government yesterday described the petition against it on the alleged evacuation of the Fulani-Muslims from Wase Local Government Council of the state as baseless, misleading and indeed a futile attempt politically motivated to discredit it before the eye of the nation and the world.
This is coming as the House of Representatives yesterday adopted a resolution mandating its leadership to investigate the forceful ejection of Fulanis from Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State. The resolution urged the leadership to visit Plateau State and liaise with the state government in seeking an amicable resolution of the crisis.


The House also resolved to advise the Plateau State government to stop further expulsion of Fulanis pending the outcome of the investigations on the matter.



Describing the affected group as “migrant-Fulani” who invaded Wase in over 14 trucks shortly after the recent Jos crisis, the Commissioner for Information, Honourable Greg Yenlong, who spoke to newmen in his office said “their arrival immediately attracted apprehension by the local residents who are also predominantly Fulanis”.
“Their fears according to Yenlong, were informed by the ugly antecedents of similar migrants who were accommodated and eventually turned out to engage in armed robbery and banditry and other negative vices that disrupted the tentative peace of the area,” he said.
According to him, the local authority merely assisted them with security out of the area when the inhabitants of the area became suspicious of their presence while the November 28 civil disturbances in Jos, the state capital, was still raging and they raised an alarm to the authority.



“Given the volatility of Wase LGA that has witnessed communal unrest and remaining a security flashpoint, the arrival of the migrants in their hundreds became a matter of security concern to the immediate communities, traditional rulers and the local government council,” he said.
Yenlong added that the suspicion of the local communities was further compounded by the fact that Fulanis are known to move with their cattles and not in trucks, but in this instance, “their arrival which was in 14 trucks immediately attracted apprehension by the local residents who are predominantly Fulanis”
He disclosed that the state security council in conjunction with the traditional institution and local authority had consented” to the cry of the host communities” who insisted that the migrants “should relocate back to where they came from” bearing in mind the 2004 civil crisis in the area.
“For the avoidance of doubt, neither the state nor local government authority have anything against Muslims or Fulanis in Wase or anywhere else in the state. May be the authors do not even know that the Emir and Chairman of Wase are Fulani Muslims”, Yenlong declared.



The state government, he reiterated, remained committed to building a state where law abiding citizens of the country will reside irrespective of creed, ethnic nationality or any affiliation and appealed to the people to “seek for those things that unite us rather than sowing seeds of discord”.
The resolution of the House followed the motion moved by Honourable Idris Ahmed and 85 others condemning the alleged forceful ejection of the Fulani community on Monday April 27th 2009. The motion argued that the action contravenes Section 41 (1) and 42 (1) of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees right to freedom of movement and right to freedom from discrimination and could stir up negative consequences in other parts of the country if unchecked.



Speaker Dimeji Bankole, who presided over the plenary tactically stepped down the motion at the beginning of the day’s proceedings and told members that they needed to do further consultations amongst the contending parties before the motion could be taken on the floor. Debate on the motion was allowed to go on after the closed door session and the resolutions passed after some amendments of the resolutions.



http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=142880&printer_friendly=1

Like the Hausas and Fulanis haven't done that before? Most Nigerians aren't legally Nigerians. I'm not surprised at all. They've been doing it for ages bringing in Fulanis from Niger or Chad both for electoral and military reasons. Bleep one Nigeria!!!!!!

9jaganja:

Like the Hausas and Fulanis haven't done that before? Most Nigerians aren't legally Nigerians. I'm not surprised at all. They've been doing it for ages bringing in Fulanis from Niger or Chad both for electoral and military reasons. mess one Nigeria!!!!!!

be that as it may, the matter still has to be investigated.

Fulani Deportees Are Terrorists – Jang PDF Print E-mail
Written by Golu Timothy, Abuja
Monday, 11 May 2009 22:15
The Plateau State government yesterday described some Fulani herdsmen who were deported from Bashar in Wase Local Government as terrorists who invaded the area with a hidden agenda. The government also wondered why a group of people will suddenly appear in large numbers in a place at a sensitive period of crisis with arms, and yet would want to impose themselves on those they met on ground. Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, the state commissioner for information, Mr. Gregory Nyellong, said it was unfortunate that the issue was being given a religious and political colouration when it was purely a security matter. He said, "the truth of the matter is that there were some indigenous Fulani herdsmen who migrated to Bashar in 1984 and have been living there. “Suddenly, four trucks of new sets of Fulani men arrived recently in the area, and were complete strangers to their brothers who are on ground. “The indigenous Fulanis have to raise alarm and these intruders were quickly sent back. “The Wase local government took the action based on security reports made available to it and the state was only informed. So, for any right thinking person to link our governor with it is mischievous." The commissioner added, "Those people are bandits and armed robbers who would have been serious security liabilities to the community. “The emir of Wase and the police and SSS know about it and they acted well to deport the strangers. “The indigenous community have been complaining of their cows being stolen by these bandits. “They became apprehensive of their presence and the proper thing to do is to send them away. Plateau State is for peace, and we will not condone any act that may create another tension." On the exact figure of the deportees, Nyellong said, "Even the entire Bashar population is not up to 20,000, so the deportees cannot be that number. It is just another wild and uncivilised propaganda by fake alarmists who are against peace. “The decision taken is in the interest of peace and security”. Collaborating the position of government, two prominent personalities, Dr. Audu Nanven Gambo of the university of Jos, and leader of the indigenous population, Alhaji Saleh Tanko, said the strangers were foreigners whose mission was not known.According to Gambo, "These people are foreigners who came in four trucks from nowhere. Their mode of entry constitutes a serious threat to peace. They are out to terrorise and execute an agenda and the council acted fast to stop them." For Alhaji Tanko, "We want peace to reign in Wase. Those Fulani that came are not part of us. We don't know them and what brought them. So we have to report to the local authorities and we are happy they were deported back to where they came from."
http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1217:fulani-deportees-are-terrorists--jang&catid=16:headline-news&Itemid=75