13 Dead in Jos after Early Morning Attack

JOS, Nigeria — Soldiers rushed to restore calm to parts of central Nigeria on Tuesday after 13 people were reported killed in an attack on a village and unrest flared in other areas, authorities said.

Central Nigeria has seen a wave of violence in recent weeks, including Christmas Eve bomb blasts and reprisal attacks that killed at least 80 people as well as clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

The surge in killings has occurred ahead of elections set for April.

"I am told that 13 people died in the dawn attack," said Plateau state police commissioner Abdulrahman Akano, adding that officers had been sent to the mainly Christian village of Wareng to verify.

Details of the attack were not immediately clear. The commander of a military task force in the region said unrest had occurred in other areas of the region as well and soldiers had been deployed to restore calm.

"We have quite a number of people killed," Brigadier General Hassan Umaru told AFP. "We are trying to contain each of these crises."

He could not immediately provide details on the unrest. Umaru first reported incidents in "several villages," but later said two villages had been hit.

A local politician also told AFP that 13 people were believed killed in Wareng, alleging Fulani Muslims had attacked Christian Beroms in the village.

Emmanuel Danboyi Jugul also accused soldiers of being involved in the attack, though Umaru strongly denied the claim.

Plateau state, including its capital Jos, has long been on edge, but unprecedented Christmas Eve bomb blasts added a frightening new dimension to the unrest.

An Islamist sect blamed for a series of attacks in the country's north claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve explosions, but authorities cast doubt on the claim and attributed it to political motives with elections set for April.

Plateau state lies in the so-called middle belt between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

Scores of people have been killed in clashes in the region in unrest many attribute to the struggle for economic and political power between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

Christians from the Berom ethnic group are typically referred to as the indigenes in the region, while Hausa-Fulani Muslims are seen as more recent arrivals.

Tensions over the weekend in the region left a number of houses burnt, while two buses carrying Muslim passengers were attacked in a Christian village on Friday.

Nigerian journalist arrested at airport

The Nigerian-born novelist, academic and journalist, Okey Ndibe, was arrested when he flew into Lagos on Saturday. He was questioned for several hours before being released. His passports - both Nigerian and US - were confiscated.

Press freedom bodies have called on the Nigerian authorities to explain why Ndibe was held by the internal intelligence agency, the State Security Service (SSS).

Professor Ndibe, who has lived in the US since 1988, teaches English literature at Trinity College, Connecticut and at Brown University, Rhode Island.

He writes a weekly political column for Nigeria's Daily Sun and contributes regularly to Nigerian publications.

In 2007, Ndibe condemned the election of President Umaru Yar'Adua, arguing that it was fraudulent. Now a general election is due in April this year.

Writing of Ndibe's arrest, Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka wrote:"Election neurosis has clearly gripped a most insensitive and inept security apparatus."

Reporters Without Borders recorded at least 40 press freedom violations in Nigeria in 2010. Four journalists were murdered during the year. The country was ranked 145th out of 178, in the organisation's 2010 world press freedom index.

Sources: Reporters Without Borders/Sahara Reporters/Daily Sun

PDP primaries: Court refuses to stop Jonathan, Atiku

THE President got Monday the legal green light to run in the April election.

But the Abuja High Court ruling on a suit seeking to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from Thursday’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary has thrown the party into more confusion.

Mr Justice Ishaq Bello dismissed the case for lacking “reasonable cause of action”.

The judge, who delivered three marathon judgments in separate cases bordering on the eligibility of the two top aspirants for the party’s nomination -Jonathan and ex-Vice-President Abubakar Atiku -however, cautioned the party on the need to respect its constitution.

Although he agreed that the way a party conducts its internal affairs is its business, Justice Bello disagreed that Courts could not dabble in it when the occasion arises.

According to him, courts can intervene when a party fails to obey its constitution.

Citing Article 7.2(c) of PDP’s Constitution, Justice Bello said zoning exists in the party, and its implementation is binding on it, adding that any party which refuses to obey its statutory laws is breeding disunity in the nation.

He, however, said the court could not at this time make any pronouncement on the suitability of the President or any candidate to contest in the party’s primary as it was yet to be conducted.

Besides, he said, by virtue of Section 87 of the Electoral Act, only aspirants in the said primary could come back to court to challenge its outcome and not any member of the party.

“There is no allegation of breach and that is understandable since no primary has held. I hereby agree that there is no sufficient cause of action. The Originating Summons is dismissed as prayed,” Justice Bello said.

Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Hon. Dubem Onyia and Alhaji Lawal Kaita, who are loyalists of ex-Vice President Abubakar Atiku, urged the court to stop Jonathan from contesting in Thursday’s presidential primary of the party.

Atiku is challenging Jonathan for the party’s nomination.

The plaintiffs wanted the Court to restrain PDP from presenting him as its candidate for the April election.

According to them, President Jonathan’s decision to contest will make nonsense of the federal character principle and the party’s zoning arrangement.

Besides, they pleaded with the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting Jonathan as the party’s flag-bearer.

The defendants are PDP, Nwodo, Jonathan and INEC, which maintained a neutral stance in the suit.

Justice Bello discountenanced the defendants’ submissions that parties in this case were the same with parties in an earlier suit filed against PDP by another member, Sani Dutsinma who was also touted to be Atiku’s loyalist.

According to him, the plaintiffs in this case are different from the plaintiffs in Dutsinma’s case, which was determined by the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Lawal Gummi.

Delivering Judgment in Dutsinma’s case, Justice Gummi agreed that zoning exists and is binding on the PDP, but held that the issue raised by the plaintiff is an intra-party affair in which the court could not dabble.

According to him, Art 7.2 (c) which recognises zoning “has not stated that any part of the country would hold the position of the president or any other party or public elective office for any specified period of time.

“For the court to, therefore, insist or order that only candidates from a particular zone should be sponsored when the constitution of the first defendant has not so defined terms and conditions is an invitation for the court to enter into the political thicket. Self-restraint in matters such as this is a virtue the court must cultivate.

Justice Bello also yesterday dismissed another suit filed against Atiku by two-time gubernatorial aspirants in Adamawa and Taraba states, Mr Bala Takaya and Senator Abdullahi Kirim for being premature.

According to him, the plaintiffs did not explore the internal mechanism of the party to seek redress before rushing to Court.

“The entire suit is premature. No reasonable cause of action has arisen. A suit without cause of action is un-prosecutable. The suit is hereby dismissed as premature and abuse of court process”.

The Judge also dismissed a suit filed against PDP by another aggrieved member, Alh. Sadiq Jada, for granting a waiver to Atiku, to prepare his return to the party after defecting to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on which platform he contested the presidential election in 2007.

He said: ‘’I have examined the written submissions of counsel in the matter. The complaint must relate to the plaintiff’s right, otherwise, the plaintiff will be seen as a busybody. The plaintiff must have a special interest that would adversely be affected.

‘’The plaintiff had said that he is a card carrying member of the party. What is his interest that is above that of other members of the party? What injury will he suffer if the defendant runs as candidate?

‘’This suit portrays the applicant as a busybody since his right has not been directly violated. His right and that of his family has not also been infringed upon.

‘’The plaintiff constitutes himself as a litigation nuisance. The objection is upheld as the suit which constitutes abuse of court process is hereby dismissed,’’ the Judge said.

Jega says closure of schools is to ensure safety

Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission says INEC’s request for the closure of schools during voter registration is to ensure greater security for students. Mr Jega told journalists in Abuja on Monday that there was a likelihood of complications if schools were allowed to be on during the exercise.

“Initially, we thought we could manage under the circumstances but it became very clear that the way we are mobilising for the voter registration and the way people are responding, we need to take extra measures in order to secure the pupils,” he said.

Mr Jega added that the move was also to ensure that there was no breach in terms of security and movement of INEC personnel and equipment for the conduct of the exercise. According to him, 70 per cent of primary and secondary schools to be used across the country for the exercise will also serve as stores for the equipment and camps for INEC personnel. He explained that with about three to 10 polling units in each school, where the exercise would take place, “there may be possible disruption of school activities because thousands of people will be going in to be registered. So we felt that in order to avoid this disruption, it is better that schools are closed during this period,” he said.

The INEC boss pleaded with state governors and parents to see reasons with the commission’s request, adding that it was in the interest of the nation and the security of the students.

“We have written to all state governors explaining reasons for the request and urging them to facilitate compliance,” Mr Jega said.

He further explained that there would be a difference if private schools were allowed to remain open and “it does not allow for equity.” He also said that “closing the school system does not mean that the students will lose the period. That is why we think it is easier to close all the schools the same time and re-open them about the same time so that they can all catch up in terms of the curriculum and the syllabus.”

He added that in order to ensure that there was no disequilibrium, it stood to reason that if INEC was advising for the closure of 70 per cent of the schools, “we may as well close all the schools for the duration.”

The INEC boss, however, noted that the commission was working closely with security agencies to ensure that the exercise was successful. The minister of state for education, Kenneth Gbagi, said that the move was taken as a preemptive measure to safeguard pupils and ensure that none of them were involved in any accident.

“Their safety was the basis of government acceding to INEC’s request that schools be closed for the exercise,” Mr Gbagi added.

Voter registration is to commence on Jan. 15 and end on Jan. 29.

Nigeria ruling party to screen presidential aspirants

A panel from Nigeria's ruling party was due to screen presidential aspirants on Tuesday two days before a primary vote, giving final approval to President Goodluck Jonathon and his challengers to stand.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) primary on Thursday is set to pit Jonathan against ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Other northern politicians such as Kwara state governor Bukola Saraki may also choose to be screened.

The screening panel, whose make-up has been kept secret, has the power to disqualify candidates on technicalities. Some analysts have suggested it could try to disqualify Atiku because he only recently rejoined the PDP.

A court on Monday threw out a suit brought by three PDP members seeking to stop Jonathan from standing on the grounds that his candidacy would break a party agreement to alternate rule between southerners and northerners every two terms.

Jonathan is from the mainly Christian south.

The PDP has won every election since the end of military rule more than a decade ago, and the winner of the party's primary has in the past been assumed to be nearly certain to become president.

However, Jonathan's controversial bid means the PDP is more divided than in the past, raising the prospect of a split in the party or of a stronger bid in April's election by an opposition candidate from outside the party.