BOMBS, BOMBS EVERYWHERE

The expolsions that rocked Jos, Maiduguri, Yenagoa

By Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor, with Taye Obateru, Jos, and Sam Oyadogha, Yenagoa
As Nigeria inches closer to this year’s general elections, terror appears to be gaining momentum.  From Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, where a dynamite exploded, to Jos, Plateau State and Maiduguri, Borno State, where bombs are exploding everywhere – not leaving out the wanton killings by Boko Haram sect members – as well as the violence which rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital last Thursday, the level of terrorist activities in the country in the last nine days has reached alarming proportions.

Unlike in the past when it was localised, the spreading spate of violence in the land on the eve of voter registration all the more creates a magnifying spectre of gloom.  This report takes a look at the rising spate of terror in the land and attempts to locate its import.

What do Yenegoa, Maiduguri and Jos have in common?

These state capitals have become sad symbols of terror.
Yet, considered: For Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, it was the first place during this 4th Republic where a bomb was used to dislodge members of the state House of Assembly.

A victim of the Morgadishu Barracks bomb blast receiving attention at the General Hospital, Asokoro, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

Maiduguri, Borno State, was the same place where members of a religious sect, Boko Haram, struck late last year and killed several people.

Except for the months of August and September, Jos, the capital of Plateau State, witnessed one form of terror attack or the other at least twice every month.

Now, the latest eruption in Jos, Maiduguri and Yenegoa are presenting new challenges for security operatives in the country.
In fact, before this latest terror attacks in Jos, 2010 had witnessed some 22 very serious violent eruptions in the once serene city.
The latest is what has now pitted the authorities at the local state and federal levels against the militants.

And, as if spreading the crises evenly, Alhaji Salako, aka Eleweomo, factional leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, was last Thursday killed in Ibadan at the local government congress of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.  Two others lost their lives and there have been reprisal attacks on the Tokyo faction of NURTW in Ibadan.

CHRISTMAS EVE HORROR
In what could be described as coordinated attacks, seven explosions occurred in two parts of Jos on Christmas Eve leaving many dead and several injured. It was a new dimension to the saga of violence in Jos and it resulted in reprisal attacks for the next two days which left more people dead and more property destroyed.

It all started about 7.30 of the fateful Friday. As people made last minute purchases for Christmas at the popular Gada Biyu market in Kabong area, they suddenly heard an explosion which was followed almost simultaneously by six others in different parts of the community. Limbs and human parts flew across the streets as confusion ensued.

Just at about the same time at Angwan Rukuba another part of the city, an explosion occurred at a relaxation bar known as Sauki Relaxation Centre which was crowded by patrons there to celebrate the Christmas Eve. Within minutes a second blast which shook most of the buildings around was heard. All the people around fled for dear life unsure of where the next explosion would sound.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says the death toll from the Christmas Eve bombings and the ensuing violence in the Plateau State capital has risen to 80. NEMA’s Deputy Director (Communications), Daniel Gambo who confirmed the figures  said 180 people are currently hospitalised in various health institutions while 70 have been treated and discharged.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Special Task Force maintaining security in Plateau State, Brigadier-General Hassan Umoru, said they have uncovered plans by some people to launch mass attack on churches on New Year Eve.  But, he assured that the Task Force was battle-ready to contain the situation, adding that his men had been ordered to gun down anyone trying to burn down or attack any place of worship.

And, just last Thursday, members of the Boko Haram, in utter contempt for the authorities defiantly continued their killing spree, in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, killing seven persons. They attacked a police vehicle, the latest in a string of attacks by the group and wounded eight people. A military spokesman said the vehicle was “burnt to ashes” in an attack by the Boko Haram group at a bus station in the Dala area of Maiduguri, one of two cities where churches were bombed on Christmas Eve that claimed six lives.  Just last Tuesday, members of the sect fired shots into a teaching hospital in Maiduguri killing a police officer and two others.

Boko Haram, which wants strict Islamic law imposed throughout Nigeria, claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve bombings of churches in Maiduguri and Jos, and has been blamed for other attacks over the past week.

President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed that the Federal Government would get to the root of the matter just as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petirin, has also vowed that the perpetrators of the Christmas Eve bombings in the Plateau State capital must be unmasked and brought to book. The vow came as the Special Task Force (STF) paraded three suspects, two of them for attempting to torch a church at the Dogon-Karfe area and the third a Nigerien for being in possession of dangerous weapons.

JOS AND ITS HISTORY OF CRISES
In Jos, the spate of violence has taken place in this order:  In 1994, following the creation of Jos North and Jos South local governments areas from the former Jos Local Government Area by the General Ibrahim Babangida Military Administration, one Aminu Mato, a Hausa-Fulani, was appointed the Sole Administrator. This did not go down with the indigenous ethnic groups who were already aggrieved that Jos North was created instead of the Jos Central that they asked for.

The feeling was not helped by the alleged taunts from the Hausa-Fulani who saw the creation as a victory for them. There was even the speculation that the Hausa-Fulani asked that the palace of the Gbong Gwom, the paramount ruler of the Berom people located on the premises of the local government Secretariat should be relocated to Bukuru which became the headquarters of Jos South Local Government.

The indigenous groups resisted the attempt to swear in Mato and this resulted in a crisis as the Hausa-Fulani community protested their action resulting in violence. The crisis resulted in the burning of part of the ultra-modern Jos Main Market.

In 1997, violence reared its ugly head again at Gero village near Bukuru when some Hausa dry season farmers clashed over who had the right to farm a particular land.

In 2001, the struggle for the control of Jos city between the Hausa-Fulani and the indigenous ethnic groups took a turn for the worse over the issue of representation. An Hausa man, Mukthar Mohammed was appointed the National Agency for Poverty Eradication (NAPEP) coordinator for Jos North Local Government, but this was again resisted by the indigenous groups.

Youths belonging to the indigenous groups allegedly prevented him from entering the office and were accused of splattering the walls of the office with human waste to drive home their message. The tension generated by this development resulted in the September 7-8 crisis which resulted in massive loss of lives and property.

In 2004, although the 2004 crisis happened in Yelwa-Shendam far away from the state capital, it attracted national and international attention because of the massive loss of lives and the religious dimension it took. It is also significant because it led to the declaration of a state of emergency which resulted in the suspension of the then state governor Chief Joshua Dariye and the entire members of the House of Assembly. The appointed Administrator, General Ali (rtd) promptly convened a peace and reconciliation summit for the people to come together.

In 2008, following council elections held on November 27, 2008, another crisis erupted ostensibly over the results of Jos North Local Government Area. The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), massively supported by the Hausa-Fulani community claimed that its candidate, Alhaji Aminu Baba, was robbed of victory. The violence again took religious and ethnic dimensions leading to massive killings and destruction of property.

THE DYNAMITE THAT ROCKED BAYELSA
Just last Wednesday, December 29, two explosions rocked the campaign rally of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), aspirant, Beinmo Rufus-Spiff sending shock waves across the state of more trouble days ahead in the build-up to this year’s polls. Whoever rigged the explosive devices suspected to be dynamites at the venue of the rally succeeded in disrupting the event but they certainly did not cow a defiant Beinmo who declared shortly after the twin- blasts that no amount of bomb scare would make him abandon his ambition of challenging the incumbent governor at the forthcoming PDP primaries.

Although the use of dynamites was initially the exclusive monopoly of the oil industry in its search for hydro-carbon buried several miles in the soil as well as some few unscrupulous local fishermen in the volatile Niger Delta before its ban by the authorities because of negative impact on marine life.

This substance later became a potent weapon for the Niger Delta insurgents at the height of youth militancy in sabotaging the nation’s oil industry, especially delivery pipelines crisis crossing the mangrove swamp of the delta.

But, as a result of the winner- takes-all politics being practised in this clime by the political class this dangerous device became a ready tool for the politicians’ army of thugs and on several occasions they have violated the tranquility of the city in their struggle for power.

Residents of the capital were treated to a cocktail of this ‘soap opera’ during the bitter acrimony between the state governor, Chief Timipre Sylva and his erstwhile deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi. Ironically no culprit had been arrested and prosecuted by the police authorities.  The botched Wednesday rally was billed to start at 10 a.m. on the fateful day but did not commence until 3 p.m. The arena was filled by thousands of supporters of Beimo Rufus-Spiff and other residents of Yenagoa who were anxious to hear his action plan for the state.

Interestingly, the presence of securitymen on ground and the proximity of the venue of the rally to the JTF base, 700 meters away, may have boosted the confidence of the organisers of the rally and those who thronged the arena of a hitch-free event.

But, this was not to be as two powerful explosions rocked the arena when Beimo Rufus-Spiff was about to address his supporters. The arena was momentarily thrown into confusion. The atmosphere changed from that of political gathering cum carnival to that of a city under siege.

It was every man to himself, husbands abandoned their wives, journalists their colleagues with some losing their working tools, and even security operatives scampered for safety. Many sustained injuries in an attempt to get away from the confusion.

Though no life was lost in the incident, the timing of the blasts, however, raised suspicion among supporters of the governorship aspirant that it was orchestrated by those who were not comfortable with his aspiration and are bent on preventing him from contesting in the PDP primaries.

“We had feared something like this will happen giving the series of attack on our supporters in Yenagoa and Brass and had applied for police protection. The intention attackers is to make our boss backed out of the governorship primaries,” said a source close to the Spiff campaign organisation.

A security source who was at the scene of the blasts told Sunday Vanguard that the masterminds of the attack had perfected their act long before the rally.  The explosive devices, the source said, must have been buried in ground by the perpetrators before detonating same just to abort the rally.

“Giving the vigilance of people nobody will want to take the risk of going to haul dynamite at the crowd. It must have been buried there before the event and the motive was to disrupt the rally,” said the source.

The confusion notwithstanding, Beinmo, who had been confined into a wheel chair since 2003 as a result of a motor accident, stood where he was while his supporters formed a ring around him.
After about 10 minutes, his supporters mobilised people back into the arena and Beinmo, in a hurried speech, declared that he would not be intimidated in his quest to contest for the governorship of the state.

MAKING A (CRUDE) BOMB
A handful of one-inch nails stuffed in a litre bottle half filled with petrol; a piece of torn cloth stuffed in with about a foot-long of the cloth hanging on the outside.  Strike a match, torch the cloth, then throw the bottle as far away as possible. What you get on impact is nothing but an explosion with the nails flying in all directions.  That is called a Russian cocktail.

The things moved: Look for dynamite; or more technical and clinical, get Centex, for deadly effect, add a compressed spring; depending on the size and scale of the device, add a bagful of nails, too; connect an electric device with electric cables, add some fuel, connect to a cellphone as an igniting device or a clock with a timer, set the time for moment of explosion, hide somewhere.  With whatever is applicable – either the clock as timer or the cellphone as igniting device – set off your bomb and the impact would be deadly.

MAKING PROGRESS (IN THE WRONG DIRECTION)
From the days of Russian cocktail as a means of demonstrating righteous or misplaced angst against the state, to the modern approach using dynamite and, more lately, Centex and other explosive devices, progress has been made.
But, we have made progress in the wrong direction.

It was for that reason that a year which started on a violent note in Jos, Plateau State, is also ending on that note in the once serene city.
And, if anybody thought it was an isolated incident, terror was taken down south to the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Bayelsa State.
Therefore, within a week, bombs were either exploding or had been planted in parts of these two states.
How sad.

WILL CULPRITS FACE THE LAW THIS TIME

One thing common to all the crises, is that they are always followed by condemnation from various quarters which are again followed by panels or commissions to investigate the cause, identify the masterminds and recommend appropriate sanctions. Huge sums of public funds are expended on the investigations but they always end on the shelves unimplemented. Hence, the culprits go free and wait for another opportunity to strike. Some of the reports actually identified and recommended specific people for prosecution, but this was not implemented.

Many prominent Nigerians including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar, have stressed the need for perpetrators of violence to be identified and punished following the 2008 crisis but rather than this happening, a dispute arose between the federal and state governments on who had the right to investigate the crisis.

The state government filed a suit seeking to affirm its right to investigate the crisis but later backed out under apparent pressure. The ‘strained’ relationship generated by the crises appeared to have stalled the attempt to prosecute suspects arrested in connection with the crises as their case files were taken to Abuja and were never returned!

This was a major issue presented to the Abisoye Presidential Panel investigating the 2008 crisis which ironically, was holding public sitting in the state when the latest violence erupted. Governor Jonah Jang repeated the importance of sanctioning those behind the crisis when he received the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau and then Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, when they paid separate visits to the state over the recent crisis. He said punishing them would serve as a deterrent to would-be-trouble-makers.

However, as pointed out by Mr. Ezekiel Gomos, former Secretary to the Plateau State Government and Vice-Chairman of the Conflict Management and Mitigation Regional Council (CMMRC), which has launched a campaign for peace on radio since the latest crisis erupted, this is just one aspect of the matter. According to him, sincere dialogue remains the best way out, promising that his council would initiate something in this regard as soon as the situation calms down.

The search for the return of peace to Jos to quote General Yakubu Gowon who, incidentally is from Plateau State, “is a task that must be done.” But, achieving this would depend largely on the sincerity demonstrated by all concerned to nip it in the bud. It remains a sore point as both sides count their losses and the victims many of whom have lost loved ones, property and other valuables struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives again.