THE location of University of Jos has always made it vulnerable to attacks whenever there is crisis or civil disturbance within the neighbourhood. Many students of the institution in the past had been victims of these attacks. The two campuses of the university (the one on Bauchi road and the other on its permanent site) are therefore always in a helpless situation and prone to attacks anytime there is a crisis in the state, especially in Jos North Local Government Area of the state where the institution is located.
On February 22, the permanent site of the university and the area known as Naraguta were thrown into confusion, occasioned by steps taken by the authorities of the university to stop encroachment on the university’s land. Violence erupted when the university authorities allegedly sent some labourers to start building a trench around the institution’s land bordering Naraguta community.
Owners of structures on the encroached land reportedly resisted the move while hoodlums took advantage of the confusion that ensued to once again unleash mayhem on the community by destroying vehicles and setting houses, including a place of worship on fire. One person was killed while others, including students living in the community were brutalised and injured.
Sunday Tribune findings revealed that the land in question belonged to the defunct Brick and Clay Products Limited, a company which was purchased by the university through a competitive bidding from the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).
A management staff of the university who craved anonymity stated that since the acquisition of the land, the institution has been battling with land grabbers, who went ahead to erect illegal structures on portions of the land. The building, Sunday Tribune learnt was usually done under the cover of darkness. The university, according to the top management staff member, had adopted various peaceful approaches to keep the squatters out. But these measures, he said, did not produce fruitful results.
Senior Deputy Registrar of the university, Wilson Yale, in a statement, explained that the recent clash occurred due to the decision of the university to secure its lands by digging a trench to stop further encroachment. According to him, trouble started when some irate youths forcefully chased the workers engaged by the university to work on the perimeter trench. He added that students were attacked and properties accommodating students of the university within the community, a place of worship and other properties were also destroyed.
The statement pointed out that as a result of incessant encroachments, the university sought the intervention of the Plateau State government which set up a 10-man committee, adding that the committee submitted its report and a white paper was released after a careful study in November, 2019.
It further pointed out that the white paper authenticated the Certificate of Occupancy No PL9636 issued in 1988 measuring 119.50 hectares issued to Nigerian Bricks and Clay Products Limited now property of the University of Jos.
Though most of the affected residents of the community in separate interviews agreed that the moribund bricks company was purchased by the university but added that parts of where the institution has been laying claim to did not belong to it.
One of the affected landlords in the area, who identified himself as Musa, said his house was among the buildings that UNIJOS had marked for demolition, adding that he bought his own land from the natives before the bricks company wounded up and wondered why his property should be demolished by the university.
There are others with similar stories but Sunday Tribune findings revealed that immediately after the company folded up and the university acquired its property, some individuals began indiscriminate and arbitrary construction on the land without any legal document.
An elder in the community, Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim Nuhu, strongly condemned the incident, but called on governments at all levels to stop the fencing project embarked upon by the university. He said they were exploring means to calm down the youths of the community from taking the law into their own hands.
He said the community’s stakeholders at its meeting over the incident also recalled the remote and immediate causes of the problem, one of which was perceived as the taking over of the land belonging to the defunct bricks and clay company, which was a subsidiary under former Nigerian Mining Corporation, by the university.
The community leaders, he said, said had raised concerns then on the need to resolve some of the grey areas in the matter bordering on the actual extent of the company’s land. The stakeholders were of the view that until this is resolved, the misunderstanding may not abate.
Alhaji Ibrahim said the community has also appealed to other critical stakeholders from adjoining communities to help prevail on UNIJOS authorities to see reasons why the fencing project should be stopped in the interest of peace and justice to all parties.
But while some of the affected landlords claimed legitimate ownership of the portion on which their houses were built, aborigines of Jos North, the host community of the university, through its association “Anaguta Youths Movement” have disowned such claims. According to them, the land and disputed portions belong to the University of Jos, which they claimed legitimately and properly acquired all the land it is currently situated upon.
The youths movement through its National President, Deacon Moses Dawang, in a statement encouraged the authorities of UniJos and the government to continue the demarcation of all their legitimate landed properties in order to secure and protect government properties against land grabbers, speculators and hoodlums who are bent on taking advantage of the university’s unfenced landed properties.
“Anaguta Community is aware that University of Jos has acquired the land in question and has proper documents to that effect from the B.P.E and has every right to use such land as they deem fit. Any individual or group of persons that has any issue with University of Jos’ acquisition of any land should follow legal means of addressing their grievances rather than resorting to self-help which could lead to a breakdown of law and order.
“As a community, we all know that no one is above the law; so there is every need for the security agencies to be decisive in dealing with the people that have repeatedly attacked the management of the University of Jos whenever they embark on a visit to their land. Also, the government was not spared from such attacks by those hoodlums and land grabbers.
“However, we are calling on all Anaguta people that are [occupying] the property belonging to the University of Jos, to stop forthwith or we shall handle them appropriately,” Dawang said in the statement.
He called further on the government to urgently reach out to the community that suffered great loss as a result of the Saturday’s attack as people were left without houses and churches were destroyed by the hoodlums in the guise of a protest.
“The question is: what have churches and native houses got to do with the activities of University of Jos? There is more to it; the action is purely criminal and expansionist,” he also said.
However, an intervention from the Plateau State Government seems to have diffused tension in the community. At an elaborate meeting which involved the management of the university, traditional rulers of Rigizah and Naraguta and others from surrounding communities, it was unanimously agreed upon that the property in question was covered by a Certificate of Occupancy legitimately acquired by the University of Jos.
It further added that the university had the right to demarcate and secure its properties against encroachment by land grabbers.
A cross section of students residing at private hostels in the community also made a passionate appeal to the government to provide adequate security for them and others living in the area. One of them who identified himself as Marcus declared that:” This community needs total cleansing and protection; we are always under threats especially during crises. The government should come to our aid.”
Another student of the university resident in the community, Catherine Pwajok, said she narrowly escaped being killed by the hoodlums. She appealed to the university authority and the state government to resolve the matter, adding that lives of the students living in the community would be perpetually under the threat if government failed to resolve the matter as the hoodlums and irate youths would continue to attack them.