Plateau: Group rejects Jos North indigeneship judgement, threatens court action 

The Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of Natives (PIDAN) has opposed the recent High Court ruling granting indigeneship to Hausa/Fulani residents in Jos North Local Government Area based on their birth and long-term stay in the state.

The group, which reacted to the ruling during a press conference held in Jos on Monday, declared that, as a way of registering its rejection of the judgment, it will head to the Court of Appeal and pursue all available legal and constitutional means to challenge the decision.

During the press conference, which was organised by PIDAN after an emergency meeting of its leadership to review the implications of the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice C. Donglong on June 9, 2026, the group said it had entered into collaborative talks with like-minded groups and organisations in the state and had set up a committee to immediately study the judgment and explore legal options, including filing an appeal.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference and jointly signed by the President of PIDAN, Amb. Danjuma Nanpon Sheni, and the Secretary-General, Comr. Danjuma Dickson Auta, the organisation called on residents of the state to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding while legal processes take their course.

“PIDAN maintains that the question of indigenous ownership of Jos North had long been addressed through various judicial panels and commissions established following past crises in the area,” the communiqué said.

The group referred to the Aribiton Fiberesima Commission on the 1994 Jos crisis, the Niki Tobi Commission on the 2001 crisis, the Bola Ajibola Commission on the 2008 crisis, as well as the 2004 Plateau Peace Conference, arguing that the various panels had consistently recognised only the Afizere, Anaguta, and Berom ethnic nationalities as indigenous groups in Jos and Jos North, while acknowledging other communities as long-settled residents. It questioned the grounds on which Justice Donglong based his ruling.

The statement further recalled that the acceptance of the Fiberesima Commission report was challenged at the Plateau State High Court in Suit No. PLD/J382/91, decided on April 6, 1996, but the challenge was dismissed. It added that the Jos Division of the Court of Appeal subsequently affirmed the High Court judgment on November 22, 2000, in Appeal No. CA/J/76/99, while the matter later proceeded to the Supreme Court, which, on April 24, 2009, upheld the lower courts’ decisions.

The organisation therefore stated that the judgment appeared inconsistent with earlier judicial authorities and established legal positions, arguing that the distinction between citizenship and indigeneship is not unique to Plateau State but exists across Nigeria. It maintained that constitutional citizenship rights differ from claims of ancestral ownership and customary recognition.

While acknowledging the contributions and presence of other ethnic nationalities resident in the state, PIDAN emphasised that such recognition does not alter its position on the indigeneity question relating to Jos North.

Plateau: Group rejects Jos North indigeneship judgement, threatens court action