It will be recalled that one of the major complaints by the Plateau state Government in November 2008, was that the state was infiltrated by mercenaries from other states and the Republic of Niger who fought on the side of the Muslim-Fulani to attack other groups in Jos. The Niger Ambassador in Nigeria denied this at the time and defended his country. The Plateau State Government stood its ground, and this probably explains why the State Security Council became jittery this time around when it received reports that a group of aliens had taken residence in Wase local government.
I do not believe these are Nigerians, I still maintain they should be kept out of Plateau states. If they were truly Nigerians they would not be moving around in trucks and in numbers of the hundreds.
Till today, these immigrants cannot account for from whence they came when asked. If they are Nigerians, the government of Plateau state still reserves the right to keep them out. Let other states with Fulani inhabitants absorb or host them. Plateau state had gone through enough. How are we sure these are not terrorists from anywhere in North Africa?
14 truck loads of immigrants hundreds in number heading straight for Plateau state of all places? I am not from Plateau state, but I am concerned.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archi...TOKEN=83597866 Suspected al-Qaida Terrorists Face Trial in Nigeria
By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
23 November 2007
Five Nigerian suspected terrorists, with alleged links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, have been charged with preparing to attack targets in Africa's most populous country. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports the arrest and prosecution of the Islamist militants for terrorism-related offenses have drawn mixed reactions in Nigeria.
The five men were arrested in northern Nigeria earlier this month. Three of them were said to have traveled to a terrorist camp in Algeria to receive training with intent to cause insurrection in Nigeria.
Nigerian prosecutors said the suspects, all in their 30s, had planned to attack government facilities in three of Nigeria's largest cities. They allegedly planned to use the assault rifles and explosions found in their possession to this end.
Western diplomats have cautioned that Nigeria, which has a large Muslim population, could become a breeding ground for international terrorist groups like al-Qaida.
The U.S. Embassy warned in September that Nigeria was at risk of "a terrorist attack."
Muslim leaders in Nigeria have rebuffed reports that terrorist groups may be gaining a foothold in the predominantly Muslim north.
But Shehu Sani, a researcher who had done extensive studies into religion-inspired violence in northern Nigeria, says there is sufficient evidence to warrant concerns about clandestine groups in northern Nigeria.
"There have been conflicting arguments on whether there are terrorist cells present in Nigeria, specifically the northern part or not," said Sani. "But it is a fact that there are groups and individuals with links to organizations outside this country, who get their training, funding and affiliation without the knowledge of the authorities."
The southern part of Nigeria is a battleground of homegrown militants. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, one of Nigeria's high-profile armed groups, has been blamed for most of the recent violence in the troubled oil-rich southern region.
But Nigeria has never suffered a terrorist attack from a group affiliated with an outside terrorist network like al-Qaida.
The country's security forces have yet to produce substantive evidence of an active al-Qaida network in the country.
How are we sure, when we cannot tell where these migrants came from?
We are yet to quell rumors that there may be terror cells in Nigeria, and here we have suspicious migrants who cannot tell us where they migrated from. Nigerians really need to be more careful. Every criminal outside Nigeria is a Nigerian because we cannot prove he or she is not a Nigerian. Here we have some migrants settling amongst a volatile area in the middle belt portion of Nigeria and no one cares to ask questions. I find this very strange. This is carelessness at it's height.
It they are Nigerians, fine. Then they should settle anywhere but Plateau state. We have had enough religious/ethnic crises in that area. They should go and register with some form of internal affairs agency, for displaced Nigerian citizens, so they can be properly documented(finger printed and photographed for the records) before they are allowed to settle anywhere in Nigeria. If in the future they are found to cause any kind of problems, then they would be properly identified. But we are talking Nigeria right? Anything goes.
Once again I congratulate Governor Jang for taking the initiative. Kano state has it's own police force separate from the Nigerian Police Force, and has never been questioned. Governor Jang should have the right to govern his state in anyway to protect the residents of Plateau state. The people of Plateau state have not raised any objections, so I see no reason why other citizens of Nigeria should complain in their behalf.