Danjuma demands probe

A former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), on Saturday demanded a thorough probe into the recent violence that claimed hundreds of lives in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

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Danjuma


He said all angles should be explored in order to unravel the root cause of the crisis.

Danjuma spoke during a condolence visit to the state governor, Jonah Jang in Du.


He also insisted on an investigation into the reports on the security situation in Jos North Local Government Area prior to the election.


Danjuma’s statement was sequel to the one made by Jang that all the security reports he received on Jos North Local Government Area before the election indicated that everything was all right for the conduct of the election in the area.

”An impartial judicial commission of inquiry should be set up to investigate the cause and causes of the crisis. Instigators, sponsors and perpetrators should be identified and punished to serve as a deterrent against future occurrence.

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“Find the root cause of the problem to determine the people behind it. Find out whether there were conspiracies or that the event was spontaneous.”


Our correspondent gathered that faulty intelligence reports led to the security lapses prior to the election.

It was gathered that while Jang was fed with the reports that all was well, another report was sent to Abuja that the situation was not conducive for the conduct of the election in Jos North LGA.

Jang was said to have been confronted with the report, which had suggested that he was warned that all was not well with the area before the election.


Surprised, Jang presented the report given to him and the state’s Security Council and it was discovered that they were at variance.

However, the former army chief told the governor that if it were true that he was given the intelligence report that all was well and yet the crisis erupted, he should probe it.


Jang, while replying to Danjuma‘s address during the visit, expressed surprise that despite all the assurances given by security agencies that all was well for the election to go on, the mayhem still occurred.

Danjuma had said, “I want to add to what you have said about the intelligence report. If it is true that they keep assuring you that all was well before the crisis, it is either an intelligence failure or collusion. You must find out.”


He said that he was in the state to commiserate with Jang and the people of the state on the crisis.

He said that the use of violence to settle political, religious or ethnic scores was inimical to the efforts to build a modern, democratic and prosperous nation and a set- back to the promotion of unity, security and development in the Northern Nigeria and Nigeria as a whole.


The former army chief said that the time was not ripe to trade blame and urged Jang to get to the root cause of the crisis by instituting a powerful commission of inquiry.

He commended President Umaru Yar’Adua for the prompt action he took in containing the situation.


Jang in his reply said that all the evidence pointed to the fact that the crisis was premeditated. He said that the causes of the crisis were multi-dimensional that only a judicial commission of inquiry could unravel.

The governor said that he also intended to visit the reports of all the past commissions of inquiry on the crises in the state.


He said that the crisis took him by surprise because at the close of the election, all the reports he received indicated that it was peaceful.

He said he was convinced that it was premeditated following the arrest of some mercenaries.


Jang said such people would not have been around if the crisis was a spontaneous reaction to the election, more so as the mayhem started when the results of the election had not been announced.

Danjuma and his entourage, which included a former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, Mr. Isaiah Balat, amongst others, also paid similar condolence visit to the Muslim community in the city.