Over 10 Cars Razed As Youths Resist Demolition Of Kugiya Market In Jos Over Governor Mutfwang’s Executive Order

Attempts by officials of the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB) to clear Bukuru metropolis of illegal structures snowballed into crisis as traders went berserk, burning houses, shops and cars.
The incident came after JMDB officials had, in the early hours of Monday done same in Terminus area of Jos metropolis.
An eyewitness, Mr Garba Tanko told our correspondent that over 10 cars close to a supermarket in the community were razed down by the hoodlums during the incident.
He added that the security agencies comprising mostly the police and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NCSDC) and officials of the JMDB were about to effect the Executive Order when the hoodlums suddenly went berserk and confronted them.
Though the exercise in Terminus went on smoothly without hitches, that of Bukuru became violent as hoodlums, said to be aided by some traders averse to the exercise, decided to take the law into their hands.
General Manager of JMDB, Engr. Hart Bonkat, who spoke to our correspondent on phone said that while the exercise in Bukuru was going on, some hoodlums attacked JMDB officials.
According to him, he learnt that two people were shot, though he said he couldn’t confirm that as he left as the hoodlums were torching the cars and structures.
He said, “As usual we were in Bukuru to clear the place of illegal structures and some people took the law into their hands by attacking our men. When I left I learnt that they started burning cars and buildings. I also learnt that two people were shot but I haven’t confirmed that.”
Speaking earlier at Terminus Market, Bonkat said that no matter what, the Caleb Mutfwang administration was determined to restore the Jos/Bukuru market as part of the urban renewal programme.
He said, “You know, his excellency was very clear when he highlighted urban renewal as part of the major policy trust of this government. And part of urban renewal is having to resuscitate the old city back to its initial state of what it was.
“As we’ve gone around now, you’ve seen that we are trying to demarcate the setbacks and then clear our drainages where they’ve collapsed.
“We’re going to have to construct new ones. And then where the roads are filled, we’ll try to see whether we can convince the government so that it will be captured in the budget for those things to be done.
“And we are hoping that in the soonest possible time the whole of these places will take shape again and then the city will now regain its place of glory.”
He said that since the grace period of three months given for residents to regularise their building permits had elapsed, the board has started enforcing building control measures.
“The grace period given for regularisation of building permits on the 10 June. So right now we’re in the spirit of enforcement for the building control and then we are still ongoing with the vehicular traffic control.
“And while we are doing that, we are also going to try as much as possible to see that where buildings are done in error, we have to take them away. Like you notice when we went to the river, you could see the state of the buildings at that point. I definitely advise them on what to do and then where it is not condonable, we have to tell them to take it away to provide space for us for development.
He said that many people who fell foul of vehicular traffic control have been prosecuted and made to pay fines and expressed happiness that a considerable measure of sanity had returned to Jos and Bukuru.
Mutfwang had enacted Executive Order 003,: to rid the Jos and Bukuru metropolis of illegal structures and shanties in order to restore the state to its original master plan.
The law also prohibited heavy trucks from entering the city centre in day time.
It took the intervention of security operative to calm the down situation.
Efforts to contact the spokesman of the Plateau State Police Command, DSP Alfred Alabo was unsuccessful at the time of filling this report.
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