Question of indigeneity in Jos North will exist as long as constitutional rights are mixed with cultural rights —Ishaq

Barrister Lawal Ishaq is one of the leaders in Jos North local government area of Plateau State. In this interview by ISAAC SHOBAYO, the legal luminary discusses the contentious judgement of the Plateau State High Court on the Indigeneity of the local government and other connected problems. Excerpt:

The recent Plateau State High Court decision on indigeneship certificate or Indigeneity in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State appears to have punctured a healed wound and sparked controversy. What is your thought on this?

The issue has, as you said, been lingering for quite some time. It is more pronounced in Jos North, not specifically in Plateau State alone. If you know the history of Jos very well, you will understand that Jos is a cosmopolitan city. Many people come to settle in Jos, adopt it as their home, and build their lives there. Now, we have two issues here. The first is the issue of constitutionality. What does the Constitution of Nigeria say about a Nigerian citizen living in a particular part of Nigeria? What rights does a Nigerian citizen have, irrespective of where he lives? That is the first issue. Secondly, we have what I would call cultural rights. In Plateau State, we have been confusing the two—treating constitutional rights as though they are cultural rights. That is where the problem arises.

Coming to the judgment delivered on the 9th of June, the first plaintiff is the daughter of the second plaintiff. The second plaintiff, Alhaji Baba Akawu, was issued an indigene certificate of Jos, as it was then known, more than 45 years ago. He has long possessed a certificate recognising him as an indigene of Jos North. His daughter, who is the first plaintiff, went to the Jos North Local Government Council and applied for a certificate to enable her to pursue admission into a university as someone from Jos North. However, they refused to issue her the certificate. Instead, they gave her what they called a certificate of residence or residency.

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At about the same time, someone from another ethnic extraction applied and was issued the certificate she had been denied. Her father, being a lawyer and a former representative of Jos North in the House of Representatives during the Second Republic, felt there was no justification for such discrimination. After all, he himself was recognised as an indigene of Jos North. As a result, he filed a case in court. Incidentally, the only defendant in the suit was the Jos North Local Government Council. He accused the council of discrimination, contrary to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Jos North Local Government Council, in its wisdom, chose not to defend the action. It filed no defence whatsoever. Before the case was filed, however, the plaintiff followed the proper legal procedure. As lawyers know, before suing a local government authority, one must issue a pre-action notice. This notice informs the authority that it has committed a wrong and gives it an opportunity to remedy the situation before litigation begins. The law requires that such notice be served, and the authority is given a period—usually 30 days—to respond or make amends. Curiously, Jos North Local Government engaged another lawyer to reply to the pre-action notice. This clearly showed that they were aware of the matter.

After receiving the response, Baba Akawu was not satisfied and proceeded to court. The local government was duly served with all court processes, but it still refused to file any defence. It also failed to send any representative or lawyer to appear in court. I believe the court sat two or three times and issued hearing notices to remind the local government that the case was coming up, but they refused to appear.

Consequently, the judge delivered what I consider a very sound judgment. Why do I call it sound? Because the judgment was based squarely on the plaintiffs’ claim that their