The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Plateau

  • STF to probe police inspector’s killing

    The Special Task Force in Plateau State said it will set up a committee to investigate the killing of a police inspector at Mikang on Monday.

    The inspector was allegedly shot by an army corporal attached to the STF at a checkpoint in Mikang.

    STF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jos on Wednesday that the committee would soon be constituted to investigate the incident.

    The STF boss described the incident as very unfortunate and pledged to ensure that justice was done.

    He confirmed that the soldier involved in the incident had been arrested and was currently being detained.

     

  • STF personnel kills police inspector in Plateau

    An army corporal attached to the Special Task Force in Plateau State on Monday, allegedly killed a police inspector at a check point in the state.

    The Plateau Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Onuigbo, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.

    He said that the incident happened “at about 2pm on Monday.’’

    “Preliminary investigation revealed that the two men had a `little altercation’ that led to the shooting,’’ he said.

    “The matter is already under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Jos. We want to find out why the corporal shot the inspector.

    “The army corporal has been arrested and he is in detention with the appropriate authority.

    “As soon as the matter is completed, he will be charged to court,’’ the police spokesman said.

    The police official, however, did not give the identity of the persons involved.

    “Such details will be made public in due course,’’ he added.

    Efforts to speak with STF spokesman, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, proved abortive as calls to his line were neither picked, nor returned.

    An STF source told NAN that the spokesman was on the entourage of the STF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola, on a peace sensitisation tour to some crisis-prone communities in the outskirts of Jos.

  • Four killed, two injured in Plateau attack

    Four people, suspected to be Berom youths, have been killed by unknown gunmen in Fang village, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.

    An eyewitness said: “The gunmen ambushed the victims. When the car in which they were riding came close, the gunmen stopped it and opened fire on the occupants.”

    Those who heard the sound of the guns said the attackers used military rifles.

    The attack occurred in less than a week after a similar attack in which two people were killed.

    The attack caused serious tension in Riyom and Jos South local governments yesterday.

    The member representing Riyom in the House of Assembly, Daniel Dem, confirmed the attack.

    He said: “The four people were shot dead around 5pm in a vehicle going to Fang village in Riyom Local Government.”

    Dem, who is the Majority Leader of the Assembly, noted that the attack was a setback to the peace process.

    The lawmaker condemned the attack.

    He described it as barbaric at this time the state is en joy relative peace.

    The lawmaker gave the names of those killed as Markus Davou, a driver; Gyang Pius, Yohanna Bature and Monday Kentong.

    He said Samuel Umaru and Keneng Pius were taken to Vom Christian Hospital.

    Berom youths yesterday stormed the hospital where bodies of the victims were deposited and the injured are recieving treatment.

    The youths called for the bodies of the victims.

    They said they needed to see the bodies before taking their protest on the killings to the Government House and the headquarters of the Special Task Force (STF) on Plateau Crises, code-named Operation Safe Haven.

    They accused the military of complicity in the killing of their youths.

    STF spokesman, Capt Salisu Mustapha, confirmed the killing of four persons.

    He said the victims were in a vehicle when unknown gunmen opened fire on them.

    He urged the residents to be calm.

    According to him, investigation has begun on the incident.

     

     

  • Plateau, FCT claim men/women’s basketball bronze

    The Men’s Basketball teams from Plateau and the FCT on Friday emerged the bronze medals winners, respectively, at the ongoing 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Team Plateau defeated hosts Team Lagos, 50-49, while FCT outplayed Team Delta, 66-58, to claim the bronze medals. The bronze medallists Plateau and FCT in their matches came from behind to snatch the medals in the events held at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Hall, Lagos.

    Team Lagos was leading at 32-16, but later succumbed to the wilful power of Team Plateau and lost its bid to win the bronze. Team FCT also came from a 10-point gap in the second quarter of the match to overcome Team Delta, before maintaining the lead all through the rest of the game to claim the bronze.

    Team Plateau Coach, Jacquiline Niagwan, attributed his team’s victory to hard work and determination, saying that Team Lagos lacked coordination and was weak in their defence.

    “My boys were the more determined side. We wanted to take something home, so we took the game to them and it worked out for us in the end. We came from a 16 points gap when we saw the slackness in the Team Lagos defence,“ Niagwan said.

    Lagos Team Coach, Mark Balogun, who obviously was devastated after the loss, declined comment. Team FCT Coach, Emmanuel Odah, was full of praises to God for the victory, saying the victory was not expected, judging from Team Delta’s quality of players.

    “I thank God for the victory; sincerely it was not expected. My girls came from a 10-point gap and outplayed Team Delta in all aspects of the game,“ Odah said.

    Team Delta Coach, Nosa Oyenebor, said he was not happy about the loss, saying that a bronze medal would have been good enough for his team.

    “Our loss today came as a result of tiredness. We played our semi-final a day before with Team Lagos and we were not well rested,’’ Oyenebor said.

    NAN reports that the event’s final between Team Rivers and Team Oyo for the men’s title and between Team Lagos and Team Rivers for the women’s final would hold on Saturday.

  • Succour for trauma victims in Plateau

    Succour for trauma victims in Plateau

    NGO provides skills for rural women

    Help has come for rural women in Plateau State who were traumatised by violence.

    A non-governmental organisation, Development in Nigeria (DIN), is helping to rehabilitate poor, rural dwellers in the state after the series of violence left them shattered.

    The NGO is training them in remote villages, equipping them with skills that will take them out of their trauma, poverty and hopelessness.

    The state has more of its population in the rural areas, with its poverty profile put at 70% and mostly among the rural poor.

    The Jonah Jang administration has concentrated its development agenda in the rural areas for obvious reasons but even at that, its efforts seem to be a drop in the ocean due to intensity and spread of the poverty scourge.

    This poverty profile was accentuated by sectarian, ethnic and religious crises which have lasted over a decade. As the violence lasted, residential houses, business premises, farmlands and farm produce have been destroyed to further impoverish the population.

    Plateau people particularly the vulnerable groups like women and children have become virtual refugees in their own land and nation. The common features in these crises-ridden communities are widows, widowers, ophans, people without hands or limbs.

    To worsen matters, NGOs which would have helped, stay away fearing for their safety.

    DIN is different. The organisation owned by a British woman Caroline Ifeka, moved in to help no minding security realities.

    The NGO, established in Nigeria in 1996, opted to help the traumatised women by giving them somethin g to do.

    Mrs Ifeka developed interest in uplifting rural women in Nigeria having studied closely the poverty challenges facing them, drawing from her experience of over 50 years marriage to a Nigerian from Enugu State.

    Though the NGO is based in Calabar, the impact of its programme is being felt in northern parts of the country particularly in Bauchi, Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau states where it has worked with rural women far removed from basic social amenities.

    Director of the NGO, Mrs Ifeka who is currently working with women in Rahol Mazat, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State, said the mission of the NGO is to change the poverty profile of rural women by offering them a means of livelihood. She said the

    The NGO is currently working in Cross River, Bauchi, Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau where it is engaging the rural poor in participatory ways.

    She said, “We are beginning our programme with women realising the fact that they bear a very heavy burden in poor societies and are the vulnerable group in conflict situations. So we get women empowered through vocational training, skill acquisition, computer literacy with special focus on e-learning and e-mailing.

    “By so doing we try to raise our target from poverty level by helping them to establish small-scale business that is basically subsistence to families. Since majority of the rural communities here are mostly farmers including men, women and youths, we have a programme on agriculture.

    “DIN is unique, participatory and has a low-cost approach  to reducing conflict  and poverty in a multi-religious and ethnic community. For example, Rahol Mazat village, is highly replicable. That is, next year women and youth living in Rahol Mazat will go out to neighboring villages, carry out specific trainings of cooperatives while the NGO, working with the LGA Agricultural Extension Services,  provides technical and logistical support.

    The secret of successful replication is to commence Training of the Trainers (TOTs) at the project’s  outset.  For example, DIN farmer field school women’s groups (maximum 10 women per group) elect two women per group to be trained by an experienced TOT.  Within a year women, youth and elders may be ready to establish a democratically elected, gender balanced Community Development Committee that will plan and implement replication in two-three neighboring villages.

    “Another secret of successful replication is that participants make money through the process.  Rahol Mazat is developing its own seed bank of locally prized and government approved certified seeds : women and youth groups sell their own quality maize, Irish potato and pepe seed  to farmers  and in local markets as well as training women in other villages in neighbouring LGAs  how to develop  their own seed banks.

    “Encouraging seed sovereignty helps maintain local bio-diversity, species richness and a range of resources protecting families against total crop failure and destitution in hazardous, often conflicted environments.

    “In DIN’s experience the only long term strategy for reducing violence and poverty in rural areas is replicable practical action for job creation and income growth, backed by literacy, gender balanced development planning and small-scale agro-industrial processing.

    “Women play a crucial part in bringing together Muslim and Christian, Berom and Fulani, in the multi-ethno-religious communities inhabiting  Barkin Ladi, Ryom and Vom LGAs (Plateau State).

    She also said, “In our demonstration village, Rahol Mazat, since September this year, women have commenced improved farming and are actively participating in literacy classes with their TOTs.  In  the next rainy season women and youth groups may be trained in tree nursery  cultivation; they and their TOTs will  sell seedlings and make polypots for sale; others may  inter-plant  rapidly growing economic trees with staple food crops grown from approved local varieties valued  for resistance to common pests and unpredictable climatic changes.

  • Plateau State: the hidden stories

    Plateau State: the hidden stories

    The dissonance between an outsider’s perception of Plateau State and the reality can be so striking as to provoke not just amazement at the many positive sides to the state, but also some measure of disgust at being fooled by the relentless media focus on crisis and conflict as the reigning identity of Plateau. Thus, any scholar who is still interested in news flow patterns—after the debacle of the New World Information and Communication Order during the 1980s—should find Plateau a suitable laboratory for documenting and analysing the distortion of reality.

    True, a serving Senator and another lawmaker were killed this year, and villagers are routinely savaged by mercenaries and other warmongers in some parts of the state. True, also, that there have been migrations, as residents flee conflict areas when trouble flares, leading many to believe that Jos and Plateau in general were well within the province of a failed state—deserted and falling back into the dark ages. But Plateau had pleasant surprises for members of the National Good Governance Tour Team who visited the state in late October.

    To me, the source of stunning surprise was as follows: if peace is a predicate to development, how have the state and Federal governments carried on with the many projects that are so visible, when guns are supposed to be booming? A sampler: well-paved inner city roads, sprouting from the dilapidation of yore; dualised arterial roads in Jos complete with a flyover, stretches of road networks in local government areas, resuscitation of water treatment plants in Jos-Bukuru, and an ambitious effort to build the 45,000-seat Zaria Road Ultra Modern Stadium that was first awarded in 1988, then the contract fell into limbo until Dec. 2010, when Gov. Jonah Jang re-awarded it.

    The concept for the stadium is fascinating. It is intended to attract high-profile national and international competitions, and also be available for high-altitude training that will save the country forex, while boosting the state’s coffers. The completed tartan tracks and astro turf pitch wowed the Good Governance Tour Team, with some exuberant frolicking on the turf. The government is looking farther ahead, with a Greater Jos Master Plan, covering six local government areas, to be implemented over a 17-year period. There is also a new Government House under construction, with proposals to make it a revenue-earning tourist attraction. It could have been so easy to proclaim that Gov. Jang is on an ego trip with the new Government House, except that his cogent response that the project won’t be ready until 2015, when he leaves office finally, silences critics.

    With uncommon zeal, Jang has focused on infrastructural renewal and delivery, giving it his trademark quality. Only a man of towering confidence can boast that even when President Goodluck Jonathan came calling, riding in a chopper for two days, he could not finish commissioning the many projects that studded his itinerary. Jang is striving mightily to exorcise ghost workers (some of them infants and school children whose names have been wangled into the payroll by collusive officials) who bilk the state of nearly N1billion monthly. He is also scaling up agriculture through mechanised services, green house technology, training, agro know-how, diary technology, and post-harvest marketing all through the Agricultural Services, Training and Marketing Ltd.

    Jang is driven by a peculiar yet admirable stubborn will. I applauded him when he said during the Citizens’ Forum that the government would not pay for the five or so months that local government employees had been on strike, citing the no work no pay rule. But he provided an exit window for the workers, saying that if they resumed and worked for even only a couple of days in October, he would direct that they receive full pay for the month. The significance was also not lost on many at the Forum when Jang offered what was a public apology for the incursion of the military into politics, which led to the country’s arrested political development. Yet, without doubt, he is guided in his current engagement partly by his experience as a former Military Governor of Benue and later Gongola states, and his well-known frugality that is unpopular among the rent-seeking class.

    But, crucial as health is, it is only now—five years since he first took office in 2007—that the sector is beginning to appear under his radar. He was always subliminally confident perhaps that the Jos University Teaching Hospital, a Federal Government facility, which has now moved to its permanent site and is a magnet for healthcare seekers, was a dependable source of access to healthcare. Gov. Jang is also unfazed by the security challenges in the state, blaming it partly on agents provocateurs, the absence of state police (which he says compromises his role as chief security officer of the state), and a dysfunctional judicial system, whereby arrested suspects never seem to answer for their atrocities.

    Plateau has its pristine aesthetics: rolling hills, balancing rocks, a kaleidoscope of greenfields punctuated by scenic ravines, and an equable climate. But there has been a recent magnificent man-made addition to Plateau’s beauty. The latest beauty enhancement lies somewhere along the 43.2km Vom-Manchok road constructed by the Federal Government. The road provides an alternative route from Jos to Kaduna. The point of attraction lies somewhere in an escarpment, where up to 30 metres of igneous rock was drilled down and blasted, to make way for the road. As you drive down the slope, the allure of the hill top ahead and the greenery below is simply breathtaking. Model agencies, glossy magazine publishers, film makers and advertising agencies would find the site a perfect location for a priceless shoot. Reassuringly, the Vom-Manchok road is not within the range, where mercenaries and herdsmen, clad in fake fatigue and armed with assault weapons, occasionally sweep down the hills to launch hit-and-run attacks on defenceless villagers.

    Paradoxically, beyond the regular conflict stories, which do not represent the greater scope of life and living in the state, Plateau has another bad news, which has not been sustained in the headlines, obviously because its import is far less appreciated. During the courtesy call by the National Good Governance Tour Team on the Governor, and at the subsequent Citizens’ Forum, Gov. Jang announced the prevalence of a silent pestilence that is ravaging Plateau: cancer. According to him, some of the abandoned pits used for mining tin and columbite in the past, have been found to contain radioactive materials. People use the water from the pits for domestic purposes, while dredgers also mine plaster sand for construction. Exposure to the radioactive elements, Jang said, was a worrisome source of cancer among men and women in the state. He provided no statistics, but that is for any diligent reporter to follow up on.

    Jang appealed to the Federal Government, and to the international community, to come to the aid of the state. This would require remediation of the affected sites, massive public enlightenment to reduce further exposure at the sites, and care for those already struck with cancer. A catalogue of issues arises from the cancer scourge. First, considering its alleged source, this is a matter that is fodder for environmental activists to be properly seised of, and then be up in arms over what is perhaps Plateau’s biggest quest for survival and sustenance, over and above the ethno-religious conflict. There are also posers over what the proper role of the Ecological Fund Office should be in such a matter. But there are legal dimensions as well.

    Where are the tin mining companies today? Or, where are their successor companies? Did they follow acceptable practices for the many decades that they operated in Plateau? Even if they did follow acceptable practices, now that there is evidence of instances of cancer arising from the radioactive materials in the abandoned pits, what is the legal remedy, and payable by whom? Or, is the causation too remote in time as to be a valid source of claim against the tin mining companies or their successors? In any event, when will Plateau and Nigeria internationalize the issue?

    • Osadolor is Special Assistant to the Minister of Information

     

  • Plateau supports state creation

    Two of the three senatorial districts of Plateau State have supported the creation of more states.

    At the Plateau North Senatorial District, stakeholders said they are comfortable with the present state as it is constituted, but added that should any other senatorial district be interested in state creation, it should go ahead with the agitation.

    But the Central and Southern senatorial districts unanimously supported creation of more states.

    The three senatorial districts took a common ground on the issue of indigeneship and citizenship, saying indigenship should be enshrined in the proposed constitution just as they say they believe in equal rights of all citizens.

    Stakeholders from the three zones are expected to meet at the Government House, Jos, to meet with Governor Jonah Jang to harmonise their position before proceeding to Markudi, the Benue State capital, tomorrow for the North Central constitutional review meeting .

  • Plateau pupils caught in wages crisis

    Plateau pupils caught in wages crisis

     Plateau State pupils are roaming the streets. Weeds are taking over their schools’ premises because of the protracted strike (now six months old) by their teachers over the minimum wage. YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU examines the causes and effects of the crisis.

    All is not well with the teaching profession in Plateau State. Teachers have spent more time outside the classrooms in the past five years. This is largely due to frequent strikes by them over welfare issues.

    At the moment, teachers in state-owned primary and secondary schools have been out of the classrooms since May, due to the strike declared by local government workers’ union – the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Plateau State chapter. All appeals to get them back to work failed as they insisted that something concrete must be done about the 18 per cent minimum wage.

    The Executive Chairman of the Plateau State Universal Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Lyop Mang, insists teachers have no business embarking on strike because they are enjoying the best times in their career under the administration of Governor Jonah David Jang.

    Nevertheless, the state has witnessed more strikes during this administration than in the past.

    Jang himself acknowledged this fact recently while addressing stakeholders in the Government House in Jos.

    He said at the meeting: “There is no governor in the history of the state that has taken care of workers’ welfare than I have done, yet no administration had witnessed the number of strikes witnessed under my administration. Something must be wrong and I want to know.”

    In his five years as governor, Jang has trained 52,122 teachers at various professional levels between 2007 and 2012; implemented 27.5 per cent teachers’ salary allowance as well as employed 500 teachers of English and Mathematics in secondary schools.

    On assumption of office in 2007, Jang was said to have paid a backlog of teachers’ leave and transport allowances to the tune of N636 million, owed two years before his tenure. The governor regularised payment of teacher’s salaries by ensuring promotion of teachers are released timely.

    To improve the school environment, Jang renovated 175 primary schools, constructed over 500 classrooms, and distributed about 50,000 plastic chairs/desks. He established 19 new nomadic schools in seven LGAs while 1,395 sets of dual desks, seven tables and 20 pieces of universal furniture were provided for physically-challenged learners.

    Also, over 400,000 copies of English, Mathematics and science textbooks with additional 290,000 other books were distributed to schools. The state ensures the 1,033 schools receive instructional materials yearly.

    In addition, 67,264 registers, lesson note books, weekly dairies and assorted books were distributed to schools. Most importantly, the governor purchased 34 motorcycles for the 17 LGEAs.

    All these were possible after the convocation of several education summits between 2007 and 2009.

    However, the current strike is the result of a disagreement over the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage introduced by the Federal Government in 2010. The government told workers it would pay 50 per cent of the wages initially and would increase to 100 per cent if the allocation from the Federal Government increases.

    At the end of Jang’s meeting with the stakeholders, it was agreed that a committee of elders be constituted to mediate between the aggrieved workers and government for an amicable settlement of the disputed wage. The high profile committee is chaired by a former military administrator of the state, Rear Admiral Samuel Bitrus Atukum (rtd).

    The elders committee held several meetings with the striking workers. The issue of minimum wage was resolved and the government reached an agreement with NULGE and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to pay 55 per cent of the N18,000 minimum wage.

    However, schools cannot resume because NULGE wants salaries owed during the five months strike paid.

    Its state Chairman, Emmanuel Loman said:“A lot of meetings have been held, but these workers have continued to stand in the way of amicable resolution. The elders’ committee has even gone as far as promising the workers additional five per cent to the 50 per cent they were originally offered, which the workers rejected. They insisted on 100 per cent payment of the minimum wage which we chairmen cannot obviously afford to pay due to continued reduction in our monthly allocation.

    “Everyone has been expecting the workers to call off the strike but they came again insisting that the salaries of the last five months of the strike should be paid before they call it off. This, again, is another stumbling block because we operate on “no work no pay rule”. This is a rule NULGE is aware of long before now.”

    The issue of no-work-no-pay rule is not a new policy in Plateau State. Medical workers who went on strike for months resumed work without any payment of salary arrears. The same condition applied to teachers of state-owned tertiary institutions who were on strike last year.

    However, teachers insist that their welfare suffered a severe set back under the Jang administration, saying renovations and construction of new classrooms does not translate to improved salaries.

    Joel Mathew, a primary school teacher in Jos North LGA said: “The present government deceived us at the early stage. The governor cleared the backlog of salaries owed us by past administration and we applauded him then not knowing that he will be the worst. Now, it is clear to us that the governor was not sincere with the welfare of the teachers.

    “How can you say you care for teacher’s welfare, yet you allow them to go on strike due to your failure to treat us like our counterparts in other states? For instance, the latest reason for our strike, the governor agreed to pay the minimum wage, but we are on strike because he failed to implement his own agreement.

    “A governor that claims to have the best welfare for teachers will allow teachers to be on strike for five good months. What sort of welfare package is that?” queried Ayuba Gyang, a teacher in Riyom LGA.

    Another teacher from Jos South LGA, Laraba Joshua, also claimed the governor’s act of solidarity at the beginning was deceptive.

    “This government does not care if Plateau children go to school or not. We are highly disappointed because Governor Jang at the initial stage declared a state of emergency in education in the state and raised our hope; we thought he was going to do something serious. He now appear to be the worst governor in education because if he can allow teachers to be on strike for six months, it shows he does not care for education in the state”

    Yohana Pam, a teacher in Jos North had this to say: “I’m currently looking for a job. We are not complaining about conducive working environment; we have that already but the governor should know we deserve better pay like teachers of other states.”

    However, Mrs Mang said teachers were involved in the strike out of sympathy not because the government has not done enough.

    She said: “The truth about this strike is that we don’t have a problem with our teachers in terms of provision of welfare and conducive working environment. The present governor is second to none in the country in funding of education. My teachers are on a sympathetic strike because they fall under NULGE union; it is NULGE that is on strike here, not NLC. But NLC has to join in solidarity; this is the truth.”

    She went on:“The issue of salaries of local government workers has nothing to do with state governor because local governments receive their allocation directly through the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs

    “Education has been enjoying a lion share in annual budget in Plateau State since the state governor declared a state of emergency on its educational sector in 2007. The records are there to show and the projects are there for all to see.”

    Mrs Mang said to avoid such unnecessary closure of schools, the Federal Government should allow SUBEB to handle teachers remuneration.

    “This is why I am of the suggestion that if the Federal government is interested in an uninterrupted education system, teachers should be removed from government ministries and handed over to SUBEB all over the federation, so that they will not be forced to join general strikes by NULGE as we are witnessing.”

    Mrs Mang also faulted the insistence that the government should pay the workers for the months they were on strike.

    “If workers who refused to go to work for months are asking for salary arrears, who will pay school children that has been loitering at home within the period? Who will pay parents who have lost loved ones as a result of the strike? I don’t think their demand is reasonable.

    “I, therefore, appeal to the workers to drop their pride and resume work. I want them to consider the fact that the effect of children not going to school due to strikes will be on us adults because if they turn out to be criminals tomorrow, all of us, including these teachers, will face the consequence of mass illiterate children turned criminals.”

    So far, there is the state will resume soon even as the first term is already half way. At the moment, private schools are having a field day in Jos, exploiting frustrated parents who could not afford to keep their wards at home because of the prolonged strike.

  • Jos traders task government on relocation policy

    Jos traders task government on relocation policy

    Traders at the new Jos market, on Tuesday, appealed to the Plateau State Government to effect the relocation policy of all street traders to the market.
    A cross-section of traders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria, said the government’s inability to enforce the relocation policy was adversely affecting their businesses.
    They alleged that the continuous presence of traders at un-designated areas around terminus and Rwang Pam street areas of the city had prevented customers from patronising them at the new market.
    NAN learnt that the new market comprises 3,000 stores for traders and other businesses but less than 400 stores are currently occupied by traders.
    NAN reports that most traders prefer to do business around the terminus area as against relocating to the main market.
    Mr. Chineye Godwin, a trader at the new market, complained that most traders at the new market were going bankrupt due to low patronage.
    He said that most customers preferred to buy at the terminus open market and urged the state government to come to their aid by relocating all traders at the terminus axis to the new market.
    “If you notice there are no customers, people are not coming but if the government will pursue people from terminus because it is from there that we came here, but other traders refused to relocate. But we that are obedient came here and we are suffering, the whole money we came here with, all has finished.
    “What we are asking the government to do is to help us; ask those people to relocate so that the market will have one face; so that customers will come here,” the trader told NAN.
    Mr. Chidebere Nsofor, another trader at the market, told NAN that the relocation of the Terminus motor park to the New Rukuba Road motor park would also improve patronage at the new market.
    He appealed to the state government to consider the relocation of the market alongside the motor park in the interest of the law abiding traders at the New Rukuba Road market.

  • Plateau: Four killed in Berom, Fulani clash

    Plateau: Four killed in Berom, Fulani clash

    Four persons were killed yesterday in three villages in Riyom Local Government area of Plateau State, five days into the latest round of conflict between the Berom and Fulani.

    Several houses were also burnt after gunmen suspected to be Fulani invaded the villages and launched an attack.

    However, Ardo Fulani Bachi, Ardo Muhammad Bello told THE NATION that unknown gunmen attacked and killed one Fulani boy while grazing cows. Six of his cows were also killed, he said.

    Mallam Bello said, “Surprisingly, while we were mourning of our member, security men came to arrest our people. Our major problem is the attitude of the security agencies. We are the ones being attacked but the security men came here and arrested 10 of our boys. They are biased against us”

    Similar confrontation has reduced in Barkin Ladi local government area following the imposition of a curfew.

    Some residents want a similar curfew imposed in Riyom.

    Over 5,000 women and children have fled their homes and are taking refuge in public schools and open markets in Riyom. More than 25 people have been killed since last Tuesday.

    Saturday killings came on the heels of heightening tension in Riyom on Friday when more than 2000 women of Berom extraction took to the streets to protest the killing of a woman by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

    The woman was allegedly waylaid and killed on her way to the farm. Her death was said to be a reprisal for Wednesday’s killing of a Fulani man by suspected Berom youths.