From Gyang Bere, Jos

December 15, 2022, would remain a special day for the people of Jong community in Ropp District of Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. It was a day that life returned to the community seven years after gunmen attacked, killed and displaced the people.

The people witnessed heavy attacks on May 19, 2015, that left the community deserted. Women, children and the aged who survived that attack fled for fear of the unknown, giving the gunmen freedom to loot foodstuff and destry all the buildings.

The people of the community were shattered, leaving them wallowing in despondency and helplessly. Sadly, everybody in the community lost his or her source of livelihood, turning them to beggers and refugees since 2015.

Interestingly, the gunmen worked round the clock to forcefully take over the community that had a population of over 600 people with 122 households. There were simultaneous attacks on the neighbouring villages of Lobiring, Lohala, Rabuk and Zim, among others, resulting in loss of lives.

It was learned that several efforts made to rebuild the burnt homes for the inhabitants to return to their ancestral land met stiff resistance from the gunmen who destroyed moulded blocks and other materials.

The community lost all hope at that level, until Col. Danjuma Abdulsalam was posted as commander, Sector 4, Operation Safe Haven (OPHS), and provide security and the willpower that paved way for the return of the displaced community.

It was learned that Col. Abdulsalam, with the support of the General Officer Commanding, 3rd Division, Nigerian Army, and Commander Operation Safe Haven, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Ali, directed all displaced persons who were willing and ready to return to their ancestral homes to do so without hesitation and issued a threat to all parties involved in sabotaging the safe return of IDPs.

This commitment paved way for the rebuilding of the ravaged communities, spearheaded by the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM), led by its former president, Gabriel Sunday Badung. This effort was supported immensely by deputy chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, the senator representing Plateau North, Istifanus Gyang, who provided bundles of zinc, bags of cements, steel doors, windows, roofing materials and cash donations, among others, that aided the rebuilding of 38 houses.

To make life more meaningful for the returnee IDPs, Ali provided a solar-powered plant, borehole, four solar searchlight and approved the deployment of military personnel to secure the community.

However, not everyone has completed their building. Thirty-five-year-old Tabitha Bot, a mother of five, is one of them. She lost her husband a few years after they were displaced from the community. She is squatting with a relation in a neighboring community while her building is yet to be completed in Jong.

She said: “We escaped the 2015 attack narrowly with my husband and five children but, unfortunately, some gunmen laid ambush for my husband in September last year and killed him, leaving me with the children.

“I have been making efforts to complete my house in the community but the blocks were not enough. I am working to mould more blocks to enable me complete the building but I have a challenge of where I will get money to buy roofing materials to enable me pack into the community.

“I am appealing to good-spirited individuals to assist me and the children to complete the building. As we speak, my children have been out of school, no food to feed them and going to farm has been a challenge for us because of fear of attacks. I don’t know what to do. I need help, please.”

Maj. Gen. Ali said the return of Jong indigenes to their ancestral land was a model for other displaced persons to consider returning to their original lands, while promising to provide support for this to be achieved.

Ali informed the gathering that the unfortunate incident that led to the displacement of the people had long been addressed through different means, championed by relevant authorities in the corridor of peace.

He further announced the deployment of armed troops to protect Jong and neighboring communities from any external aggression and threats. 

Ali said strong security measures have been put in place to ensure no community within OPSH’s joint operations area is attacked or displaced again.

He commended the efforts of the 36-man peace committee set up to recommend modalities to achieve reconciliation between warring tribes/communities and the board constituted for the safe return of IDPs to their original homes.

Ali said: “This occasion is quite unique as it will give us the opportunity to examine the important roles Operation Safe Haven played in assisting displaced communities return to their ancestral lands and further inform everyone what must be done to prevent  such occurrence from happening again.

“The unfortunate incident that led to the displacement of Jong community residents, which dates back to 2015, had long been addressed through different means championed by relevant authorities in the corridor of peace. Operation Safe Haven was instrumental in bringing succour to this displaced community through its clearance operations organized to neutralize the perpetrators and bring their collaborators to book.

“I am happy to inform you all that these actions yielded positive results as some of the perpetrators were neutralized while others are on security agencies’ watch list. We have put in place strong security measures to ensure that  no community is attacked or displaced again within our joint operations area.

“This we shall sustain through aggressive patrols, regular clearance operations and intelligence gathering. We have also encouraged communities to form vigilante groups that would assist the operations of security agencies in local communities where criminals are inhabitants of same communities.”

Commander, Sector 4, Col. Abdulsalam, who provided security for the rebuilding of the destroyed community, expressed joy over the return of Jong people to their ancestral land, which was left desolate during the 2015 and 2018 crises that left the people scattered in several IDPs camps, with some squatting with family members and friends under harsh conditions.

“It is on record that several communities, villages and settlements were displaced during the period of crises within OPSH Joint Operation Areas (JOA). Consequently, the Commander Operation Safe Haven, Maj. Gen. Ali, was moved with compassion and made sincere efforts to return various displaced persons to their ancestral land.

“He first set up the Retired Honorable Justice Daniel Longji 36-man committee to recommend modalities to achieve peace and reconciliation between various tribes. Commander further constituted a board chaired by my humble self to work out modalities for the safe return of displaced persons to their ravished homes.

“It is in light of the above and in an attempt to actualize the commander’s innermost sincere desire of returning the IDPs to their ancestral land that Sector 4 made concerted and selfless efforts by putting in place modalities for the safe return of Jong people to their ancestral land to serve as a model for other displaced communities to return as well,” he stated.

Senator Gyang said violence was not an option to peaceful resolution of disputes, adding that efforts being made towards resettling internally displaced persons in Plateau communities were yielding desired results. He called for better understanding among the inhabitants of the area for peaceful co-existence, to avoid a repeat of the ugly incident in the future.

He commended the Federal Government’s initiative on the rebuilding of 500 housing units across displaced communities in the country and urged government to look the way of Plateau State, where several households have been displaced and communities destroyed.

“This peace that has come is priceless, let us not resort to violence as a way of resolving disputes. Violence should never be an opinion to resolving disputes. Anytime you have an issue, dialogue is a platform through which you can always resolve your issues peacefully,” he said.

The senator, who provided grains for the returnees to reduce their suffering, also inaugurated a clinic in Lobiring, a neighboring community, to provide health care services to the people, and a power transformer to upgrade power supply to Gassa and Model Town Hall in Heipang communities, respectively.

He lauded Ali for playing a commendable role by providing security, solar-powered light and motorized borehole to give the people potable water.

The Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, represented by Dagwom Rwey of Jos South, Da Nga Dangyang, Justice Longji Daniel (retd), and other dignitaries, said it was a joyful thing that the people have gained the trust of security agencies and are coming back home after being displaced for seven years.

The ward head of Jong, Da Alexander Pam, who was full of joy, commended Ali, Abdulsalam and Gyang and bestowed awards on them on behalf of the community for their selflessness and immense contributions to the rebuilding and return of the displaced community.

Gyang was honoured as Da Sogwo Pomo Jong, Abdulsalam was bestowed with an award as Gwom Chomo Jong while Ali was honoured as  Da San Ntya Jong.