By Taye Obateru

Jos — The Plateau State government has expressed dissatisfaction with the failure to prosecute the over 367 suspects arrested in the wake of the November 2008 crisis in the state capital after they were taken to Abuja ostensibly for prosecution.

In a memorandum to the Emmanuel Abisoye panel set up by the Federal Government to look into the crisis, the state government said the due process of the law should be allowed to take its course by returning the suspects to the state.

Presenting the memorandum, Director of Research and Political Affairs in Government House,  Mr. Gyang Pwajok, said the only way justice would be seen to have been done was to return the suspects and their case files to the state.

He said this was the only way to eliminate the suspicion surrounding the decision to transfer them to Abuja, adding that over concentration of power at the centre under a federal system created distortions that were not in the best interest of the federating units.

The government memorandum stressed the need for security agents to take urgent action to retrieve illegal arms in the hands of people as a way of ensuring peace in the state.

It said Governor Jonah Jang never issued a shoot-at-sight order during the crisis as alleged.

In another memorandum, the Igbo Community Association, Jos urged the Federal Government to pay compensation to the families of those killed and those who lost property in the crisis to alleviate the hardship they were facing.

Their spokesman, Chief Onyeka Onyema, also wanted security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities to nip crisis in the bud before they break out or escalate.