From Tongnaan Bawa Jos
The Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN) has rejected the recent Federal High Court judgment on the indigeneity of Jos North Local Government Area, describing the ruling as a legal anomaly and vowing to pursue all constitutional means to challenge it.
In a press release issued on Monday jointly signed by PIDAN President, Ambassador Danjuma Nanpon Sheni, and Secretary General, Comrade Danjuma Dickson Auta, following an emergency meeting held on June 13, PIDAN said it would immediately explore legal options, including filing an appeal against the judgment delivered by Justice C. Donglong of the Federal High Court, Jos, on June 9, 2026.
The organisation urged residents of Plateau State to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding despite widespread reactions generated by the ruling.
“PIDAN, in collaboration with other like-minded agencies and institutions, will explore every available legal and constitutional means, including an immediate appeal, to address the judgment and correct what appears as a legal anomaly,” the statement read.
The group said it was shocked by the court’s decision, arguing that several judicial commissions and court pronouncements had previously settled the issue of indigenous ownership of Jos North.
According to PIDAN, reports from the Aribiton Fiberesima Commission on the 1994 Jos crisis, the Niki Tobi Commission on the 2001 Jos crisis, the Bola Ajibola Commission on the 2008 Jos crisis, as well as resolutions from the 2004 Plateau Peace Conference, consistently recognised the Afizere, Anaguta and Berom ethnic groups as the indigenous tribes of Jos and Jos North.
The organisation further noted that while other ethnic groups were acknowledged as long-settled residents and citizens, they were not recognised as indigenes with ancestral ownership claims to the land. It specifically cited the Niki Tobi Commission’s recommendation that the Hausa-Fulani community should “accept the ownership of Jos by the Afizere, Anaguta, and Berom tribes” to foster lasting peace.
PIDAN also referenced previous court decisions which it said upheld the findings of the commissions. It noted that a challenge to the acceptability of the Fiberesima Commission was dismissed by the Plateau State High Court in 1996, a decision later affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Jos Division, in 2000 and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court on April 24, 2009.
“In light of the above, PIDAN maintains that the recent Federal High Court judgment in the Fatima Baba Akawu case conflicts with binding and settled higher court precedents, including those of the Supreme Court,” the organisation stated.
The group disclosed that its legal team had been directed to study the judgment thoroughly and advise on possible legal action, including an appeal aimed at setting aside the decision.
PIDAN cautioned against violence and urged residents not to take the law into their own hands. “All citizens of Plateau State are urged to remain peaceful, refrain from any acts of violence and avoid taking the law into their own hands as a consequence of the judgment,” it said.
The organisation further argued that the distinction between citizenship and indigeneship is practised across Nigeria, maintaining that while all Nigerians enjoy constitutional rights irrespective of where they reside, indigeneship relates to ancestral ownership and customary rights.
PIDAN acknowledged that ethnic groups from other parts of the country, including Yoruba, Igbo, South-South and Hausa-Fulani communities, remain valued citizens of Plateau State but insisted that they are not indigenous to Jos North.
The group called on the Governor of Plateau State and security agencies to sustain efforts at maintaining law and order while legal processes take their course.
“PIDAN remains committed to pursuing justice through acknowledged legal processes and will keep the public fully informed of progress,” the statement concluded.