Dura-Du: No longer an El-dorado

ISAAC SHOBAYO writes that the attempt to find missing General Idris Alkali, by all means, is sending jitters down the spines of residents of Dura-du community where his car was found, causing some of them to relocate.

The whereabouts of the missing retired Major-General Idris Nur Alkali and attempts by the military to locate him have become a serious matter in Plateau State that is now stirring up controversies in various quarters. Alkali, the immediate past Chief of Administration, Army Headquarters, Abuja, was declared missing on Monday, September 3, 2018, a day after gunmen swooped on Dura-Du community in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, and killed 13 persons.  He was said to be on his way to Bauchi after leaving Abuja in the morning and allegedly got missing around Jos.

Wife of the retired senior officer, Mrs. Salamatu Alkali, drew the attention of the Nigerian Army authorities to his disappearance on 5 September 2018. According to the woman, the missing General left his home in Abuja for Bauchi on 3 September, 2018.

It was learnt that Alkali travelled without his driver and orderly as he chose to drive his black Toyota Corolla by himself. The General’s wife said the last time she spoke with her husband by phone, he told her he had just passed Jos and was on his way to Bauchi.

Sunday Tribune investigation revealed that in the quest to locate him, the Army authorities contacted one of the telecommunications service providers to furnish them with the missing senior officer’s call records. Appropriate technical intelligence facilities were also put into use and the senior officer’s phone was tracked to somewhere in Dura-Du District, in Jos South local government in Plateau State.

After preliminary investigations, and disturbed by the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Y. Buratai, constituted a Joint Task Force comprising officers and soldiers from 3rd Armoured Division, Quick Response Team, Operation Safe Haven, Nigeria Police Force, Vehicle Inspection Office, Fire Service, as well as local divers to comb the whole of Ladura Du and evacuate water in a suspicious-looking mining pond in the community.

The mining pond in question is one of the numerous deep ponds left behind as a result of years of mining in the state by European miners and had been a threat to host communities in diverse ways. Many of such ponds are left unprotected and have claimed lives of both man and animal.

Attempts to evacuate the water from the pond were initially resisted by the community on the ground it was a taboo. Even women in the community came out in their large number to protest against the evacuation; but with the intervention of some elders, the military were allowed to commence the evacuation.

Though the depth of the pond could not be ascertained, it took the Task Force more than a week to get to a level it can have a view of the debris underneath. After days of intensive efforts, the Task Force recovered an 18-seater Hummer bus door in the pond, which further encouraged them to forge ahead with the possibility of discovering more objects. The retired General’s black Toyota Corolla car was later found in the pond, though without his body. Apart from the missing general’s car, three other cars were also discovered.

These discoveries raised further questions and suspicions, propelling the Task Force to intensify efforts to found the army General dead or alive within the Dura-Du community.

There is suspicion in some quarters that Alkali may have been killed or taken into captivity by his assailants before driving his car into the pond where it was found.

Immediately the missing General’s car was discovered along with other vehicles at the Dura-Du community pond, an air of apprehension enveloped the area, sending jitters down the spines of the residents, who feared the military could link them with the development and launch a reprisal operation in the mould of Odi and Zaki Biam. Many of them had consequently abandoned their homes fearing military invasion while those who remained stayed indoors.

But the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Nigeria Army, Major-General Benson Akinruluyo, who while attempting to allay the fears of the residents and dispel the rumour that the military was out to deal with the community after the discoveries, was reported to have told them: “There is nothing to fear. However, we have recovered the vehicle; we still need him or his body. We were asked to find him dead or alive. The community can tell us where they kept him or his body; we will not stop until we find him or his body.”

This pronouncement and the subsequent action of the military had worsened the situation. For instance, Sunday Tribune learnt that the Task Force had stopped evacuation of water from the pond and embarked on a search of the community to arrest those considered to be suspects in the crime, based on the information available to it. In the process, many youths, including elders, were arrested causing residents of the community to accuse the military of arbitrary arrest. The heavy presence of the military in the community, which had led to lockdown of activities, had further heightened tension.

A prominent Berom elder, who craved anonymity, said the military “should not conclude that youths in the community are suspects in the retired General’s disappearance.” He advised the military not to make hasty conclusions but look beyond Dura-Du and “consider other conspiracy theories” that could have created the incident and caused the disappearance of the ex-military officer.

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Another Berom elder, Andrew Ibrahim, said the stigmatisation of the ethnic group over the incident could jeopardise the chances of the military getting to the root of the matter, as Berom themselves are victims of incessant attacks by killer herdsmen, adding that in recent times, “no fewer than 300 Berom natives were killed by gunmen” suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

“If Berom had been terrorists, as claimed in some quarters, are they the ones killing themselves or terrorising Berom land?” he asked.

Sunday Tribune learnt that the Berom nation had petitioned the COAS on the military operations in the area. The General-Secretary, Berom Educational Cultural Organization (BECO) through its General Secretary, Mr. Davou Choji, strongly condemned the way the military is carrying out the operations saying that Berom are law-abiding and abhor criminality in any form.

“Crime and criminality should be abhorred; we are law-abiding people, and if the military comes to us, we will support them in their efforts to get to the root of this matter. But the Special Task Force commander’s utterances are unguarded and did not reflect the rules of engagement.

“The threat to wipe out the community and the threat to the acting District Head of the community forced us to petition the Chief of Army Staff. This direct threat is an affront. We expected them to involve the community in their operation. The search is not open and transparent.

“I heard that some people were arrested today, especially the youth. The way they are going about it, the innocent will suffer, because right now people are leaving the village; children are not going to school and no business activity is taking place. The entire communities and others are completely locked down,” he said.

However, there were also allegations by residents of the community that while combing the area, the military had been looting the properties of those who fled their homes over fear of military reprisal.

But the Deputy Army Public Relations Officer, Colonel Kayode Ogunsanya, in a swift reaction debunked the allegation. He stated that the entire area of Dura-Du district of Jos South Local Government has been cordoned off, adding that the aim was to find Major General Alkali, dead or alive.

“It is normal when you conduct such an operation; some people will be apprehended. They were screened and sorted out based on the degree of their culpability at the venue. After sorting them out, the suspects were later arrested and brought to the barrack for further interrogations,” he stated.

Colonel Ogunsanya, however, advised residents of the community not to desert their homes and business premises, saying this will prevent hoodlums from breaking into their abandoned homes and premises. He assured the people of the military’s adherence to and respect for human rights in the discharge of its constitutional roles.

The Jama’atu Nasir Islam and Supreme Council for Sharia Affairs of Nigeria have also lent their voices to the matter. The JNI at a recent press conference urged the military to unravel the mystery surrounding the discovery of the vehicle belonging to General Alkali. The SCSAN also tasked them to go beyond draining the ponds in the area and look for graves, noting that there could be hidden mass graves all around the community area.

However, though residents of Dura-Du community are claiming their innocence in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Alkali, the military is not about giving up on the search of its former officer, despite the hard times the matter is creating for people of Dura-Du, who apparently are not used to being under siege. As it is, only the discovery of Alkali, dead or alive and far away from the community could bring relief to and respite for the people of Dura-Du.