Friday 17 March 2017

Religious and Community Leaders condemn the rising spate of criminality and cult activities in Jos city



Religious and Community leaders in Jos have condemned in strong terms the rising spate of criminality and cult activities in Jos city which they attributed to hire rate for drug and substance abuse among our youths.
the leaders who made their views known at a dialogue and consultative meeting held in the Mediation Hall of Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre, Kwang, Rayfield on Thursday March 16 2017 said the increase in cases of armed robbery and kidnapping can be attributed to the proliferation of arms and light weapons among the youths especially among tertiary school students in the state. They called on security agencies be more proactive in stemming the tides and securing the lives of the people.
In attendance at the meeting were Christian and Muslim religious leaders as well as leaders of ethnic and community groups in the State.
Below is the resolution reached at the end of the meeting:

MEETING OF RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC/COMMUNITY LEADERS HELD AT THE DIALOGUE, RECONCILIATION AND PEACE (DREP) CENTRE, KWANG, JOS SOUTH ON THURSDAY 16TH MARCH, 2017
Arising from a dialogue and combined consultative meeting of Religious and Ethnic/Community leaders held on Thursday, 16th March 2017, We Religious and Community leaders at the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre (DREP), Jos, make the following observations:
1.     We appreciate the improved peaceful coexistence being experienced in our communities; we however decry the growing incidences of criminality in Jos and it’s environs especially Apata, Angwan Rukuba, Rikkos, Rukuba Road etc. We wish to reiterate the need for security agents to be present during our meetings so that they can get first hand security updates from our communities for immediate and prompt intervention.

2.     We applaud the peaceful relationship that now exists between the Fulani and their host communities. We note with happiness that the Fulani can now graze freely in Vom, Riyom and Berom land is now generally safe for the Fulani people and their cattle.  This was made possible by our continue dialogue and collaboration. We continue to encourage such dialogue and collaboration among our people.

3.     We commend the proactive response of the state Government in refuting the rumour that the Fulani groups are planning to launch attacks on innocent citizens in the State. We wish to caution citizens from spreading unfounded rumours and reckless use of the social media that could incite and destroy the peaceful coexistence being enjoyed presently by our citizens.


4.     We condemn strongly the growing cases of armed robbery, drugs abuse and substance abuse, occultism and kidnapping within in some parts of Jos town such as Apata, Farin Gada, Rukuba Road (Kabong), Gada Biyu, Museum and West of Mines area. We therefore call on Security Agencies to be proactive in fighting this menace in securing our communities.

5.     We wish to bring to the attention of the Plateau State Government and it’s agencies, the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that have been urged to return to their communities in Ropp and Gashish, but efforts to rebuild their homes are thwarted as materials gathered for reconstruction are destroyed mostly at night. We therefore, call on government and security agents to encourage this process of integration by providing security and assistance to affected people and communities. Intelligent agencies should find out those who are responsible for prosecution.
 
6.     We commend the government for embarking on massive road construction and rehabilitation in some parts of Jos. e.g. Angwan Rogo, West of Mines, Satellite market (Kabong) linking Tudun Wada as this will ease traffic congestion and alleviate the suffering of our people. We encourage Government to continue to initiate pro-people policies and projects.

7.     We commend the Hausa, Funlani, Tarok and Jukun communities and their leaderships for their joint effort in fighting insurgency attack in Zunzukut village in Wase LGA. We call on other communities to emulate the same.

8.     We call on our communities to be vigilant and security conscious about their neighbourhood; knowing their neighbours and what they do for a living. We also encourage them to be vigilant about the crisis in Southern Kaduna due to it’s proximity to our communities so that the conflict does not escalate in to our communities. We also recommend a similar dialogue process by all stakeholders towards ending the conflict in Southern Kaduna.

9.      We call on parents to live up to their parental responsibilities by monitoring the movement and activities of their children and wards. They should also ensure discipline within the family cycle.

10.  We once more discourage farmers from selling their farm produce prematurely or immediately after harvest so as to have enough for family use.

RELIGIOUS LEADERS                                                                                                                    
CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT OF NIGERIA           (ARCHBISHOP I. A. KAIGAMA)
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (PASTOR AGNES LAGANG)    
JAMA’ATU NASRIL ISLAM (JNI) (ALH. YUSUF SARUMI)
EMIR OF WASE (REP. BY MUSTAPHA UMAR GALADIMA) (GALADIMAN WASE)
NACOMYO (MALAM ABDULMAJEED ABDULLLATEEF)
NAWAIRUDEEN (ALH. IDOWU ADEDIPE)
COMMUNITY LEADERS  
BEROM COMMUNITY (DA. Y. N. DANG)                                                                             
IGBO COMMUNITY (PROF. J. E. C. OBILOM)
YORUBA COMMUNITY (OBA SOLOMON A. OLUGBONI)
MIYETTI ALLAH (ALH. ABDULLAHI ARDO)
SOUTH-SOUTH COMMUNITY          (CHIEF IGNATIUS E.)
DREP BOARD (P. D. GUNAT)














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