Army Commander Denies Getting Calls From Governor Jang, As Women Protest

PHOTO: WOMEN OF PLATEAU STATE PROTESTING AT THE STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON WEDNESDAY.

Jos March 11, (THEWILL) - The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, Plateau State, Major-General Saleh Maina, in his bid to save his job has debunked claims that he received calls from Governor David Jonah Jang or any government official before Sunday’s slaughter of more than 500 people in Dogon-Nahawa, Zot and Rassat villages, but admitted that he received text messages and calls from his team alerting him of a positive attack but the messages did not list the villages that were attacked.

Maina is in charge of the military joint operation in the state.

Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang on Tuesday indicted the army for failing to stall the massacre even though he spoke to the commander on Saturday night and warned him of a possibility of an imminent attack.

In an interview with journalists in his office, the GOC said: "I want to make it categorically clear that no government official from Plateau State called me prior to the mayhem at Dogon-Nahawa and the surrounding villages, and they all have my phone number.

"However, I’ll like to tell you that some text messages were received by some of my officers which they forwarded to me. And let me just read some of them to you… that some Fulani men were seen in large numbers around Barkin Ladi and Furbon area, and that was 12 minutes to 9pm on Saturday. Another text came in at about quarter past 11 pm, and this one said some Fulanis were seen with some weapons around Jos East. None of the texts mentioned Dogon-Nahawa.

"I quickly deployed some troops to Shen and Du areas which were also mentioned in some of the texts. Another troops led by a captain deployed to Dogon-Nahawa area at about 2am, but like you know, the road is very bad and confusing such that even if you go there during the day it is not easy to locate the place until 2.45 am, and they moved round the place.

"And at about 3.41am report came in that some Fulanis were operating at Dogon-Nahawa and the surrounding villages, and I sent troops that were there at about 5 am. And at 8am, I sent a larger troop.

"Some of them were in pursuit of the invading personnel. In the process, by quarter pass three (3:15pm) in the afternoon, we were able to come in contact with the suspected invaders; five of them, and one was killed and four were arrested and handed over to the police," Maina said.

The GOC has been accused by Plateau State indigenes of favouring Islamic fundamentalists in the crisis. There have been calls for his sack from the army from senior retired army officers and the civilian populace.

Women dressed in symbolic black attires marched to the government house and the state house of assembly on Wednesday calling for his removal.

WHAT GOVERNOR JANG TOLD REPORTERS ON TUESDAY

"We know that what happened was that some people came across the border of Plateau State and started attacking villages, because nobody within Plateau got to these villages and started attacking them.

"I received reports at about 9.0 p.m. on the evening that some movement of people with arms were seen around those villages, and I reported to the commander of the army and he told me he was going to move some troops there, and because it is near where I live, I even saw a tank pass through my house and I thought it was going towards that area.

"Three hours or so later, I was woken by a call that they have started burning the villages and people were being hacked to death and I started trying to locate the commanders but I couldn’t get any of them on the telephone. It could have been avoided if they acted on my report."