Fulani community sues FG, Taraba government at ECOWAS court, demands $200m
- A Fulani association has accused the federal goverment and Taraba state governments of destroying lives and properties in 19 communities in Mambilla
- In June, residents of Mambilla plateau in Sardauna local government area of Taraba state took arms against each other over a protracted land dispute
- The association has now sued the federal government $200m as compensation for the damages suffered by their members during the clash
Nigeria's federal government and Taraba state have been slammed with a $200m lawsuit by the the Fulani community in Nigeria over alleged rights violation during the recent communal clash between herdsmen and farmers on the Mambilla plateau.
In June, residents of Mambilla plateau in Sardauna local government area of Taraba state took arms against each other over a protracted land dispute and this resulted into a bloody carnage.
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In the suit which was filed at the ECOWAS court in Abuja, the petitioner demanded for a whopping sum as compensation for loss they alleged to have suffered during the crises, Premium Times reports.
The crises have been dogged with conflicting reports in terms of casualties since the unfortunate incident.
While the Nigerian government reported that only 18 people were killed in the violence, the Fulani community claimed that at least 732 people were killed or missing and 25,000 cattle were killed in the process.
Fulani leaders also alleged that they lost properties worth millions of naira as their properties were looted and destroyed.
The suit at the ECOWAS court was filed by the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, with the federal government of Nigeria as first respondent and the Taraba State government as second.
According to complaints filed by its solicitor, Yusuf Dankofa, a Professor of Law, and three others, the Fulani association accused the federal goverment and Taraba state governments of destroying lives and properties in 19 communities in Mambilla “between 17th and 23rd of June, 2017 in a well-coordinated and organized manner fit to be aptly described as “Genocide”.
In the filing, the applicants said that the “Fulani communities on the Mambilla Plateau suffered continuous and well-coordinated attacks by the militia group of the Mambilla ethnic group under the leadership of the Sardauna local government chairman whose authority is as stipulated by the 2nd Defendant as provided by the Constitution of the 1st Defendant.
Part of the petition read:
5. NARRATION OF FACTS BY THE PLAINTIFF:
i. This suit is brought by the Registered Trustees of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (to be subsequently called: “Gan Allah”) on behalf of the Fulani Communities on the Mambilla Plateau of Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State; against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a member of the Economic Community for West Africa (ECOWAS) and a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and other related human rights treaties and against the 2nd Defendant for its roles in permitting the carnage committed against the Fulani Communities on the Mambilla Plateau.
ii. Gan Allah is a socio-economic, political and human rights non-governmental organization registered under Nigerian laws, and whose mandates include the promotion of respect for socio-economic, political and human rights of the Fulani ethnic group in Nigerian, through litigation, research and publications, advocacy and monitoring. Gan Allah is aimed at promoting good governance, accountability, fairness to all and responsible leadership within Nigeria.
iii. The thrust of this application is the gruesome killings and destruction of properties of the 19 Fulani communities settled on the Mambilla Plateau of Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State of Nigeria. This destruction of lives and properties in the said communities went on between 17th and 23rd of June, 2017 in a well-coordinated and organized manner fit to be aptly described as “Genocide”.
iiii. The Fulani communities under focus being subject-matter of this suit are
1. Gembu Ardorate
2. M/Sollare Ardorate
3. Part of Mbamnga Ardorate
4. Ngubin Ardorate
5. Mayo-Dule
6. Papa Ardorate
7. Mbar Ardorate
8. Tamnya Ardorate
9. Laide Ardorate
10. Ardo Ali Nguroje
11. Ardo Adamu Nguroje
12. Ardo Idirisa Nguroje
13. Nguroje Town
14. Titong Ardorate
15. Kan-Iyaka Ardorate
16. Njabbai Ardorate
17. Leme Ardorate
18. Sherif Ardorate
19. Hainnare Ardorate
v. In this carnage, a total of 732 people were confirmed killed or missing while 25,000 cattle killed, and property worth hundreds of millions looted and destroyed.
vi. The Fulani communities on the Mambilla Plateau suffered continuous and well-coordinated attacks by the militia group of the Mambilla ethnic group under the leadership of the Sardauna Local Government Chairman whose authority is as stipulated by the 2nd Defendant as provided by the Constitution of the 1st Defendant.
vii. These wanton killings and destruction of properties orchestrated by the Mambilla Ethnic Group of Taraba State against the Fulani Communities was said to have been a protest against the arrest of one Umaru CID, a ring leader of the militia group. The arrest was as a result of on-going litigation over land dispute. A detailed report on this is hereby pleaded and shall be relied upon at the trial of this suit.
viii. The Plaintiff contends that the Fulani Communities in the Sardauna Local Government Area have always been under attack by the Mambilla Ethnic Group since 1979 through 1980, 1982, 2001, 2002 and now 2017. In all of these attacks, the losses are unbearably high in virtually all conceivable terms; lives, properties, etc
ix. The Plaintiff states that in the 2002 crises alone, well over 60, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), as well as some more than 40, 000 refugees who fled into the Cameroon Republic as a consequence of the carnage engineered against them under the watchful eyes of the Defendants.
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x. The Nigerian government has continued to fail or neglected to respect, protect, fulfil and promote the human rights of the Fulani ethnic communities by among others failing to provide deserving protection and security. The Nigerian government has also failed to systematically assess the conditions and situation of the IDPs who continue to suffer after every attack against the Fulani communities all these years. In other words, the Nigerian government has failed to exercise due diligence and to act proactively to avert a recurrence and to as well unravel the complicity of the 2nd Defendant under whose government this carnage and genocide are being carried out.
xi. The Plaintiff contends that the history, complexity and manifestations of this genocidal attack on women and even children of the Fulani Communities on the Mambilla Plateau in Nigeria need to be placed within the context of a larger human rights problem in the country.
xii. The human rights challenges posed by these continuous attacks on the Fulani communities show that the Nigerian government is failing to meet its clear obligations and commitments under the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights and other international instruments highlighted above.
xiii. The Parliament of the 2nd Defendant known as the Taraba State House of Assembly have, sequel to these attacks, commenced the consideration of an Executive Bill tagged The Taraba State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill, 2017.
xiiii. The said bill is to prohibit open rearing and grazing of livestock in Taraba State and the purported establishment of ranches for purposes connected to rearing of livestock.
xv. It is a matter of common knowledge that the only known ethnic group in the world engaged in rearing of animals as part of their culture and life is the Fulani ethnic group who are scattered around different locations in the world.
xvi. As a matter of cultural heritage, open rearing/grazing of livestock having been passed onto generations to generations is the life and economy of the Fulani group on which the Fulani man survives.
xvii. The value of open-grazing of animals is expressed in not only the economy of the Fulani man but also in the social structure and framework of the Fulani ethnic group.
xviii. The establishment of ranches is a limitation of immeasurable degrees and the life of the Fulani Man expressed in nomadic rearing of animals would be curtailed and made difficult thereby threatening his survival/existence.
xix. The bill is a Fulani-targeted bill aimed at making the survival of the Fulani people of Taraba especially on the Mambilla Plateau an extremely difficult one.
xx. That allowing this bill to be passed into law only infringes the rights of the Applicants and others for whom they have filed this Application.
xxi. The Plaintiff contend that the above highlighted human rights economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights—are recognized and guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and other related human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.
xxii. Given other regional human rights jurisprudence in this field, the Plaintiff contends that the ECOWAS Court can play a pivotal role in addressing this unfortunate situation in order to avert a recurrence of this carnage.
Legit.ng had reported that more than 50 houses were burnt down in two communities in Taraba state.
The incident happened following a communal clash between two communities in Sardauna local government area of the state.
According to the report, 300 people were displaced in the clash which occurred on Sunday, January 22.
The Taraba state police command spokesman, DSP David Misal who confirmed the incident in a telephone interview said the incident took place in Wuro Dande and Wuro Buba Bagura, near Tamviya village on the Mambilla Plateau.
According to Misal, the incident was triggered by a court case instituted by members of the two communities against some youths of Tamviya village alleging invasion and occupation of their land.
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Source: Legit.ng
