NIGERIA: SOME NORMALITY RETURNS TO PLATEAU STATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 002358 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DRL - KAREN GILBRIDE, DS/IP/AF, DS/TIA/ITA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF ASEC NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: SOME NORMALITY RETURNS TO PLATEAU STATE REF: A. ABUJA 2345 ¶B. ABUJA 2328 ¶C. ABUJA 686 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Normality started to return to Plateau State's capital of Jos on December 2 as the military remained in control of the city. People were able to move about more freely; however, movement was still restricted in certain areas of the city. American citizen and Missionary contacts in the area reported no additional violence, but said they considered another flare-up likely once the military troops departed. Ambassador called Plateau State Deputy Governor Pauline Tallen on December 2 to get an update on the situation. Deputy Governor Tallen contended that the violence was not related to the elections, but rather "a carefully devised plan" by Muslims from Chad and Niger who had come into the state. Somewhat contrary to Tallen's comments, Governor Jonah Jang told Ambassador that the violence was a result of opposition parties importing armed men from Chad and Niger into the state to secure the Jos North Local Government Chairmanship election. According to the Governor, the armed men were Muslim and targeted anyone in Jos North who was against the opposition, including other Muslims. Governor Jang acknowledged a serious lack of food, water, and resources for the more than 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) at camps around the city. Jang shared his concerns over a cholera outbreak as well as a rise in malaria cases due to the poor conditions. Jang told Ambassador that he met with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to request assistance. Ambassador is scheduled to meet with Governor Jang at her residence on December 4 to discuss the political situation and humanitarian issues. Ambassador is looking into threshold requirements to access COM Emergency Authorities over next few days; but stresses that we are not at that point yet. Ambassador will report on meeting with Jang via septel. States with a similar history of ethno-religous violence, such as Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Bauchi were making pre-emptive attempts to head off a spillover of the violence. Comments by Tallen, a Christian, blaming the mayhem on Muslims, are certainly unhelpful in an already tense situation. END SUMMARY. �A;¶2. (C) Signs of normality started to emerge in Plateau State's capital of Jos on December 2. The military remained in control of the city and managed to quell the violence for the moment. The Mission's American citizen and Missionary contacts in the area reported no signs of additional violence, but said they still thought another flare-up likely once the troops depart. According to Missionary contacts, people were able to move about more freely; however, movement was still restricted in certain areas of the city. The contacts said that markets, businesses, and schools remained closed, but would try to reopen on December 3 if the situation remained calm. The Amcits maintained their desire to remain in Jos, with no plans to depart. Missionary contacts reported that they had "hardened" their compounds and have food and supplies to last several days if needed. ¶3. (C) Ambassador telephoned Plateau State Deputy Governor Pauline Tallen on December 2 to get an update on the situation. Tallen informed Ambassador that the Plateau State Peace group was scheduled to meet the afternoon of December ¶2. Deputy Governor Tallen added that a Peace and Security meeting, which would include religious and traditional leaders in addition to the Peace Group, was also scheduled for the evening of December 2 and would focus on efforts for all communities to live together in harmony. In a separate conversation with Poloff, Deputy Governor Tallen confirmed that the inauguration of the 17 Local Government Area (LGA) Chairmen would be postponed until concerns over the risk of additional violence subsided. (Note: According to press reports, President Yar'Adua prevailed on Governor Jang not to ABUJA 00002358 002 OF 004 install the Chairmen as initially planned. End Note.) Tallen did not provide any indication of how long the postponement would last. ¶4. (C) Deputy Governor Tallen, however, contended that the violence was not related to the elections, but was rather a "carefully devised plan" by Muslims who had come into the state from Chad and Niger. Noting that no political offices or government buildings were damaged, Tallen suggested that Muslims from these countries had fueled Nigerian Muslims to use the election as an excuse for the violent attacks. Tallen claimed that 50 armed men from Chad and 150 from Niger were arrested trying to enter Jos. Tallen also voiced her anger over international media reports that claimed Christians started the violence and only Muslims were killed. Tallen mentioned to Poloff that Governor Jonah Jang spoke to U.S. news outlet CNN on December 1 and held a press conference to "present the facts." Tallen maintained that the number of deaths was still greatly exaggerated and that it remained under 200. Aware of the Governor and Deputy Governor's anger over media reports, Ambassador informed Deputy Governor Tallen that the U.S. Mission in Nigeria planned to issue a statement calling for peace and understanding. (Comment: Tallen's comments notwithstanding, tensions between the local Christian and Muslim communities are longstanding, and also need no excuse to become violent. These communities have had very similar outbreaks of sectarian violence, most recently in 2004, 2001 and 1994, without any instigation from outside agitators. There are also multiple reports of both communities being involved in the current violence. End comment.) ¶5. (C) Contradicting some of Tallen's comments, Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang told Ambassador that the violence was a result of opposition parties importing armed men into the state to secure the Jos North Local Government Chairmanship election. According to the Governor, the armed men were Muslim (as many of the opposition party members are in Jos North) and targeted anyone who was against the opposition, including other Muslims. Jang claimed that the State Security Service arrested 40 Chadians and 20 Nigeriens who allegedly confessed that the opposition party brought them into the state. ¶6. (C) Deputy Governor Tallen corroborated reports the Mission received from Locally Engaged Staff (LES) family members and travel wardens that several thousand people were displaced and living in camps. Tallen, however, denied there was a lack of food or resources, stating that the State and Federal governments were "taking care of the people". Media reports stated that on December 1, President Yar'Adua instructed Secretary to the Government of the Federation Ahmed Yayale, who oversees the National Emergency Management Agency, to ensure efforts were made to provide relief to the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. LES family members did not see any signs of such relief as of early December 2. Governor Jang, however, told Ambassador that although the state was doing what it could, there was in fact a serious shortage of food and resources for the more than 5,000 IDPs in camps around Jos. Jang also shared his concerns over the possibility of a cholera outbreak and an increase in the number of malaria cases due to the conditions. The Governor informed Poloff that Minister of Labor Hassan Lawal visited the hospitals in Jos and delivered large quantities of drugs to aid in the care of IDPs and the injured, but that it was still not enough for the current number of IDPs. The Governor told Ambassador that he met with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to request assistance with humanitarian relief efforts. ¶7. (U) According to press reports, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole, Acting Minister of Health Hassan Lawal, Deputy Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly Hassan Baba, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police Richard Chime visited Jos on December 1 to assess the ABUJA 00002358 003 OF 004 damage and address several thousand IDPs at the Jos Central Mosque. Speaker Bankole allegedly pleaded with the IDPs to remain patient and allow officials to conduct a proper investigation rather than resort to violent retribution. ¶8. (U) According to media reports, several other states with a similar history of ethno-religious conflict began preemptive preparations to avoid a spillover of violence. Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau reinforced security in the Sabon Gari area of Kano, which has a population of over six million "non-indigenes." (FYI: in the Nigerian usage, an "indigene" is a person whose ancestors since before memory came from a particular area. A person is still considered a "non-indigene" of an area even if his family has lived there for several generations. End FYI.) Governor Shekarau also deployed "tanks" (presumably Police APCs) around the city and put security forces on stand-by in preparation for any conflict. Press reports stated that Bauchi State, which shares a border with Plateau State, intensified security surveillance at police commands. The report also indicated that Bauchi's Toro LGA, located 30 kilometers from Jos, received approximately 50 IDPs as a result of the violence. In Kaduna and Katsina States, Muslim leaders were reportedly using daily prayers to call for peace and advocate against the spread of violence. ¶9. (C) Reverend Bitru and Imam Isa, deputies to Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa respectively, told Poloff on December 2 that the Interfaith Mediation Centre, based in Kaduna and respected for their previous work in conflict mediation, was not involved in any response to the situation in Jos. Bitru and Isa informed Poloff that the Pastor and the Imam were currently in the UK and would only be back in Nigeria a short time before traveling on to Rome and Israel and it would be unlikely any efforts would be made, either in Jos or Kaduna, before their return. (Comment: Poloff has heard recent criticisms of the Imam and Pastor suggesting they are more concerned with their "celebrity" than actually addressing conflict issues on the ground. End Comment.) ¶10. (C) NOTE: On December 2, the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State announced its ruling upholding the election of Kogi State Governor Ibrahim Idris of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, challenged Idris over the March 29 re-run gubernatorial election. In the weeks leading up to, and during, the March by-election, political violence spread through the Okene and Ogaminana areas of the state, which were largely populated by ANPP and Action Congress (AC) party members. The violence quickly degenerated into an ethnic clash between the Ebira (mainly ANPP and AC members) and Igala (mainly PDP members) ethnic groups that resulted in approximately 50 deaths and the destruction of several homes, markets, and businesses. Poloffs observed the by-election in March and reported that most of the elections in the ANPP areas ended up being canceled due to violence (ref C). We will watch to see if the announcement of today's ruling results in renewed violence, especially in the wake of the ANPP/PDP clash in Jos. END NOTE. ¶11. (C) COMMENT: Although the Muslim on Muslim violence reported by Jang is new, it actually substantiates our belief that the violence was initially a political conflict rather than a religious one. We do still believe there is the possibility for additional violence in Jos which could spill over, not just to contiguous states, but to other regions of the country with similar ethnic or religious issues. We find the Governor to be a lot more credible than the Deputy Governor, especially considering some of Tallen's remarks. Tallen's attempts to blame the tension on Muslims and outside agitators may not be true, but are certainly not helpful, particularly if repeated publicly. Her comments are the type that add to, not diminish, the religious tension that already exist. END COMMENT. ABUJA 00002358 004 OF 004 ¶12. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. Sanders