TENSE CALM REIGNS IN JOS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000081 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, CA, DRL, INR/AA AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/22 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM CASC SOCI KCRM NI SUBJECT: TENSE CALM REIGNS IN JOS REF: ABUJA 0071; ABUJA 0056; ABUJA 0044 CLASSIFIED BY: James P. McAnulty, Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy Abuja, Political Section; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) A tense calm reigned over Jos city as of January 22. The state government continues to impose a night-time curfew. Violence has largely ended within the city limits, but may continue at some surrounding locations. Unconfirmed reports estimate over 300 deaths. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) put the number of displaced persons at over 25,000, but this figure is declining as some persons have already returned to their homes. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) A tense calm prevailed in Jos as a state-ordered curfew continued into a fifth day, January 22. Garuba Clinton, Special Assistant to Plateau Governor Jang, informed PolCouns via text message January 21 that peace was "gradually returning to the city amidst fear and tension." He described the recent violence as "terrible" and a "great loss" to both Nigeria and the Plateau State Government. ¶3. (SBU) U.S. citizens residing in Jos, including a consular warden, confirmed to Consul January 21 that calm had returned to the city, but the situation remained tense. According to one contact, attackers had destroyed the entire district of Dogan Karfi, inhabited by Muslim residents. Embassy is attempting to verify other reports of the killing of the inhabitants of an entire village south of the city. (COMMENT: As with the November 2008 riots, Embassy has heard differing accounts of which communities have suffered the most from the latest round of violence in Jos. END COMMENT.) ¶4. (C) The ICRC distributed food, water, and blankets to 12 government sites in Jos that are housing displaced persons. ICRC spokesperson Robin Waudo told PolOff that 25,119 displaced persons are currently at these sites, but the numbers declined during the day as residents left to inspect their homes (or what may remain of them). Six teams of ICRC monitors visited shelters January 22 to deliver supplies, assess needs, and count displaced persons. ¶5. (SBU) Some reports indicate that violence may be continuing sporadically at some areas outside the city limits. Authorities continue to count casualties and displaced persons. Current estimates place the number of fatalities at around 300 with several hundred injured. Recurring reports state that there has been more extensive damage to houses and businesses during this outbreak of violence than in November 2008. The Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has identified water and food as priority needs. NEMA has submitted its assessment to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, but told Embassy that international humanitarian assistance would probably not be necessary. That said, the Spanish chapter of Doctors without Borders has already arrived to provide help. Additionally, the Bauchi State Red Cross has sent volunteers to the troubled city. Waudo, the ICRC rep, also reported that police held 342 suspects in police custody. ICRC volunteer doctors treated 22 wounded individuals, and performed emergency surgery on three of them at a local hospital. ¶6. (SBU) A Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council (CMMRC)(Inter-Religious Council) established by USAID worked closely with government officials and security personnel to restore calm. CMMRC broadcast media jingles, focusing on youth, who had ABUJA 00000081 002 OF 002 committed most of the destruction, to stabilize the situation. USAID-funded Councils in neighboring Kano and Kaduna states held meetings and liaised with security and government agencies to prevent the spread of violence to their jurisdictions. ¶7. (C) Political posturing over the violence has already begun. Jonathan Mark, Special Assistant to Senate President David Mark, claimed to PolCouns January 21 that senior politicians associated with Plateau State had instigated the violence as a way of discrediting Governor Jang and preventing him from running for a second term. In a separate conversation January 21 at the Senate complex in Abuja, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairperson Jibril Aminu criticized the governor for exerting less control over the state than his predecessors, including military governors. ¶8. (C) Officials in nearby Kano State informed the Ambassador during a trip there January 21 that they had closed their southern border crossings (in the direction of Plateau State),except for a few passenger vehicles, which security forces were searching for weapons. The governor, who attends daily security briefings, has requested military reinforcements. Military and police personnel have initiated patrols in the capital, Kano City, in a "show of force" to prevent any cross-over of the violence. ¶9. (U) Embassy coordinated this telegram with ConGen Lagos. SANDERS