The hearing in absentia of a memorandum by Pastor Joshua Daudu, District Head of Bassa in Nasarawa State, which accused the Fulani in Nasarawa State of using mercenaries to attack his people, leads to a drama at the sitting of the panel on Nasarawa killings, reports Sanni Onogu, Lafia
There was drama yesterday at the sitting of the panel probing the killing of some security operatives in Nasarawa State some months ago. The panel heard two of the memoranda submitted to it in the absence of the petitioners.
The memoranda were filed by the District Head of Bassa-Zarangi in Kokona Local Government Area, Mr. Joshua Daudu and the Eggon Cultural Development Association (ECDA).
ECDA and several other petitioners had withdrawn from the proceedings of the panel.
They had cited alleged procedural irregularities, bias and lack of confidence in the Commission for the withdrawal.
Other petitioners who withdrew from the panel include: John Allu (Ward Head of Eggon Ruttu) and Peter Galilee (Ezhim Eggon Elder), Burum- Burum of Eggon Communities in Doma Local Government Area, and Danladi Jatau, member representing Kokona West Constituency in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.
Others include petitions from Alhaji Musa Darinya (Ubangarin Kwandare), Alhaji Aliyu Maigida (Makungijin Kwandare), Alhaji Iliyasu Galadima (Wanbai Kwandare), Mallam Abdullahi Maigida (Chairman), Mallam Jamilu Galadima and Mallam Aliyu Oboshi on behalf of Kwandare Community.
But the commission struck out the notices when their lawyers failed to move their notice of withdrawal.
The Chairman, Justice Joseph Gbadeyan, said the commission would take the memoranda with or without their presenters. Neither the authors nor the counsel of the two memoranda slated for yesterday were available when they were called.
Following this development, Justice Gbadeyan called on the Commission’s Secretary, Abubakar Sadiq Ishaq, who explained that all efforts to serve the lawyers with the hearing notice failed.
He said the commission decided to publish the notices in two national dailies and made public announcement through the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service (NBS) and Precious FM Radio.
He tendered copies of the newspaper publications and the radio and television scripts before the Commission as proofs.
Lawyers present did not object to copies of the publications being admitted in evidence by the Commission.
At this point, the Commission’s counsel, Funso Lawal, sought to know if it would take the memoranda as presented since their authors were not present.
Lawal said: “In the light of the absence of the presenter and counsel for memorandum 8, I don’t know whether we should take the memo as having been read or ask the Secretary to read it?”
Two lawyers, Yakubu Hassan, representing the Hausa Community of Bassa District in Agwada Development Area of Kokona Local Government Area and Abubakar Dogara, who appeared for Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association, Nasarawa State chapter, objected to the presentation of the memoranda in absentia by the Commission.
Hassan said: “I have a contrary position. The memo that has been filed before the Commission is a different thing from presenting a memo. Even in the courts, if a process is filed, it is a limited time and when the parties fail to come it is abandoned. That is my observation. Since they are not here to present it, it should be abandoned.
“You cannot present the memo because the people (presenters) are not here. Who do we cross-examine after it is taken?”
Responding to Hassan’s observations, Justice Gbadeyan said: “That will be a question for address?”
On his part, Dogara also objected to the reading of the memo saying: “What will happen if the presenter comes another day to say he wants to present the memo?”
But, Justice Gbadeyan replied: “We will finish with the memo today. It has to be read here because the whole world wants to know what is in that memo.”
He ordered the Commission’s secretary to read the memo, which blamed the crisis and the attendant killings and destruction of property on Fulani herdsmen in the area.
The memorandum reads: “The peace we used to enjoy in Bassa District ceased to exist from the 8th of December 2012 when some group of Fulani herdsmen attacked some Eggon farmers in the farm during rice harvest.
“The facts are that, while the Eggon farmers were harvesting their rice around Angwan Arume, some Fulani herdsmen visited the farm with their cattle for grazing. At that point, there was disagreement when the youths protested against the Fulanis for allowing their cattle to graze on their harvested rice.
“The disagreement led to the death of two Eggon youths who could not survive the deep machete cut from the hands of the herdsmen. When I heard the news of the attack, I immediately rushed to see for myself as I witnessed the body of one identified as Obgunri Emmanuel, who died at the spot of the attack and Philibus Avre, who died on his way to the hospital after my humble self and the officer in charge of the Police Force were rushing him to the hospital.
“The incident that led to the death of two Eggon farmers witnessed a serious reaction from the deceased relations and other Eggon youths who were bent on reprisal attack which took my intervention and that of the officer in charge of the Bassa Police Outpost, the Eggon elders on ground and the prompt response by Hon. Danladi Jatau, the Hon. Member representing my constituency to restore peace on that day.
“On the need to preach peace, I summoned a meeting of chiefs and ethnic leaders in my domain and pleaded for calm as the incident gave us restless moment.
“Within a week, I got another call reporting the attack on an Eggon woman also in her rice farm by Fulani herdsmen which I made effort to resolve.
“Sometimes around the 8th of January, 2013 at about 2am, I received a distress call and my house was opened to attend to complaint by some Eggon led by one Gideon Affiku (the Chief of Sakwato) within my district that four Eggon youths were shot to death in their neigbourhood by unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulanis.
“That at the time of the report, two of the youths were already dead while others bled seriously. I immediately called on Mr. D.S. Yamu (Jarmen Bassa) on phone to help speak with the youths and to also intervene which he did together with our Hon. Member in the House of Assembly, Hon. Danladi Jatau.
“As if that was not enough, after the return of peace, what my domain started experiencing was mutual suspicion among the Hausa, Fulani and the Eggon people to the extent that, it became a daily rumour that there was a plot to invade Eggon communities.
“Following the death of another Eggon youth from an attack by the Fulani, I , immediately, on receiving the information called on Alhaji Buli who is the Ardo of my district who denied knowledge of what happened. According to him, his men were not responsible.
“While the DPO of Garaku division in company of others and I were searching for the dead bodies of the two Eggon boys, attacked on the 9th of January, 2013, an Eggon boy ran to me and said ‘Zaki, please tell your people to go back because I saw some Fulani and other mercenaries carrying sophisticated weapons and ammunition’.
“He said he only managed to escape from his farm on sighting them. That the battle ready men were heading towards the town in an organised movement but I took the information with less seriousness.
“But within 30 minutes of the information, I heard sporadic gun shots and smoke gushing out of roofs of houses in the town. It was then, we had to run for our dear lives.”
The memo added that the invasion started around Ruwan Doma/Lawe settlement of the Eggon people and later extended to Bassa, Yelwa, Ruwan Doma Primary School, Ruwan Doma Wasku, Kurinin Kura, Gidon Dogo, Angwan Ajagena, Jigawa A&B, Uke, Angwan Waje, Angwan Awolo, Akure, Sakwato and Taba Usman.
Other villages affected by the crisis include Aforanmi, Alagani, Agbaruma, Katako, Angwan Anduwa, Angwan Yerima, Atteshini Tiv, Atteshini Mada, Angwan Dariya, Yelwa Wata, Angwan Ekon and Robo.
“The number of lives lost and properties destroyed are so much and worrisome as only years of divine intervention may heal the huge losses of the areas affected,” the memorandum said.
On those responsible/sponsors of the mayhem, Daudu blamed it on Fulani and their mercenaries.
He said: “I know as a fact that the persons responsible for the unrest in my locality and the immediate cause were the Fulani herdsmen, and the escalation led to the invasion of my community by mercenaries who I find difficult to identify.
“Even eyewitnesses confirmed to me that the invaders spoke Fulani and Hausa languages and also that other faces were unfamiliar unlike the Fulani of Bassa.
“The attack left over a thousand houses razed down by fire, several motorcycles destroyed, foodstuffs burnt to ashes and a hundred lives lost due to the crisis.
“The situation also left many inhabitants of my village homeless as they have taken refuge outside my village with little or no hope of returning due to fear and lack of shelter and adequate security yet to be provided by the authorities.”
Hassan, who is representing the Hausa community of Bassa at the panel, said the district head violated the oath of office he took to lead the people of Bassa with fairness, irrespective of ethnicity, adding that his memo sounded like he was rather a tribal leader, than a community head of the people of Bassa comprising different ethnic groups.
He added that the pastor’s decision to join other Eggon interests to withdraw from the commission gave him up as a tribal jingoist.
