The recent multiple explosions that occured in Northern part of Jos, the capital of Plateau State on Sunday night continues to reverberate across the Nigerian governing quarters and the international community. This is as 247ureports.com have learnt through a source within the top ranks in the State Security Services [SSS] that the office of the presidency has been receiving “a good amount” of pressure from leaders calling from the international community who are concerned over the continued bomb explosions growing into larger scale explosions around the country.
As gathered, intelligence information collected by foreign anti-terrorism experts, according to a SSS source, points to possible/likely up-ramp of violent activities in the Bauchi-Jos belt. Particular attention was given to the area where the University of Jos is housed/situated – belonging to the federal government which had been settled illegaly by Hausa settlers in the early 1980s through the early 1980s – naming the area, Anguan Rogo, Anguan Rimi. The Hausa settlers who came from Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi were said to have laid claims to the land. Some of the said Hausa landowners tell 247ureports.com that the land area was given to them by Berom Chieftains.
Adding gravitas to the fermenting stench is the renewed talks of dislocating the Hausa settlers from the university area by the Jonathan administration. This move has caused heightened concerns within the already agitated militant Islamic sect in the area. According to the SSS source, the militant Islamic sect has in turn marked the said area as priority target. As gathered, trained Hausa moslem youths in the act of terrorism are reported by residents in Jos as being bused in from areas believed to be East Africa [Somalia/Sudan] into the Jos/Bauchi belt to “protect” their lands against a possible enchroahment by the Jonathan led administration.
Our source understand that the Hausa settlers have had a history of expanding and protecting their acquired land area through un-forced violence. According to the source, “they have since increased their border lines after every crisis they buy off the surrounding (abandoned) lands and houses. They are heavily funded from the international Muslim body. They did this in 2001, 2008 and 2010. But in 2008 the govt stop the issuance to Certificate of Occupancy of the sell of any property in the city“. The government had halted the issuance of new certificates of occupancy as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Panel of inquiry. This is as State Government suspected that the Hausa settlers were heavily funded from outside Jos – with the instruction to buy off burnt houses and abandoned houses – knowing that Christians were not willing to reside on the boundary lines. One of the prime Anglican churches and a few ECWA churches situated in the heart of the Hausa settler strong hold [Anguan Rogo] were among the many properties abandoned and taken over by the settlers.
It is against this backdrop that intelligence officers suspect a ramp up in the violence in the immediate university area which as understood has always posed problematic for the Hausa youths in terms of inducing terror. In January 2011, a near clash between the angry student of the University of Jos and the Islamic youths was averted by a 4am intervention by the Vice Chancellor of the University. It was gathered that the various cultist groups had unified under one umbrella to “deal” with the Islamic terrorist once and for all – but was averted through a tip by an Ulama to the Vice Chancellor.
A day before the twin bomb blast in the city, the “Gbongwom Jos” Gyang Buba made a public accusation of the Hausa settlers as being the responsible parties of the crisis in the state -while adding that they were not indigenes of Plateau State. Other indigenous monarches have followed suit in making similar public declarations concerning the status of the Hausa settlers. These public proclaimations, according to the security agent, appears to have tensed up the already tensed atmosphere in Jos.
President Jonathan’s response of deploying the CDS to Plateau State is said to have been done as a proactive step to halt planned excalation of violence by the Islamic terrorist sect – owing to intelligence reports received from foreign based intelligence gathering services. But the security agent also noted that President Jonathan may not fully understand/appreciate the underlinings of the crisis in Jos – and may repeat the mistakes of General Obasanjo. The agents adds that he is aware that President Jonathan does seem hesitant accepting the intelligence report indicating that the violence in Jos is funded and fueled from the same group [both international and local] funding the Boko Haram.
