PIDAN Vows to Appeal Court Ruling on Jos North Indigeneship, Calls Judgment "Legal Anomaly"

Timescope News 

The Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN) has rejected a recent Federal High Court judgment concerning the indigeneity of Jos North Local Government Area, describing the ruling as a legal anomaly and pledging to challenge it through all constitutional means.

Following an emergency meeting held on June 13, PIDAN issued a press release on Monday jointly signed by its President, Ambassador Danjuma Nanpon Sheni, and Secretary General, Comrade Danjuma Dickson Auta. The organization stated 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.

PIDAN urged residents of Plateau State to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding despite widespread reactions to 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 expressed shock at 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, and resolutions from the 2004 Plateau Peace Conference consistently recognized the Afizere, Anaguta, and Berom ethnic groups as the indigenous tribes of Jos and Jos North.

The organization noted that while other ethnic groups were acknowledged as long-settled residents and citizens, they were not recognized as indigenes with ancestral ownership claims to the land. PIDAN 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 that it said upheld the commissions' findings. 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 organization 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 organization further argued that the distinction between citizenship and indigeneship is practiced across Nigeria, maintaining that while all Nigerians enjoy constitutional rights regardless 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.