Jos crisis: Commission of inquiry to begin public sitting

By Taye Obateru

Jos — The General Emmanuel Abisoye Commission of Inquiry set up by the Federal Government to investigate last November 28 crisis in the Plateau State Capital is to commence public sitting soon.

This is just as Governor Jonah Jang declared that the dispute between the state government and the Federal Government over the setting up of the panel had been laid to rest.

The arrival of the Federal Government’s panel, over which the Plateau State Government initially dragged the government at the centre to court, is coming about a week after the Prince Bola Ajibola Commission set up by the state government submitted its report.

Chairman of the Commission, Gen. Abisoye announced during a courtesy call on the governor, yesterday, that the panel would sit at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru.

He said the commission would investigate the use of sophisticated arms and the alleged involvement of mercenaries during the crisis in a bid to find a solution to the problem. He said the sitting of his commission after the Ajibola commission had submitted its report would ensure that there was no competition.

Governor Jang, while welcoming the commission members, said the state government was now comfortable with the panel’s amended terms of reference noting that the people of the state had initial misgivings over the commission’s mandate.

He urged the panel to make use of the reports of previous commissions into past crises in the state recently released by the administration to provide insight into the recurring skirmishes.

He stressed the need to address the problem of insecurity across the country holistically towards finding a solution to it and called for investigations into similar crises in other parts of the country.