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.


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

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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