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than 600 suspects in Federal High Court. 215 “This is the only time the federal government took time
to prosecute,” recalled a defense lawyer handling some of the cases in Jos. 216 “[T]he federal
government wants to demonstrate a kind of seriousness,” another defense lawyer said. “People
said it is because people are not punished and that is why this crisis continued, and this is why
they said let us take over these cases … and see whether we have a solution to solve this crisis.” 217
A senior official in the Federal Attorney General’s Office told Human Rights Watch that they
decided to prosecute the cases because of allegations that the Plateau State government was
“biased against a certain tribe.” The official explained that some people were concerned that
since nearly all prosecutors and judges in Plateau State were Christian, the accused persons
would not receive a fair trial. 218 The officer in charge of the Legal department at police
headquarters in Plateau State gave a similar explanation for the federal prosecutions. “There was
the allegation that the state was an interested party,” he recalled. “So the federal government had
no option but to direct that all of the [suspects] should be arraigned at the Federal High Court.” 219
Plateau State’s attorney general, Edward Pwajok, strongly objected to these allegations of bias,
calling them “outlandish and outrageous.” 220 “People have always received a fair trial in Plateau
State,” he insisted. “All of the allegations are based on suspicion.” 221 Pwajok told Human Rights
Watch that he demanded that the case files be handed over to his office for prosecution in state
High Court, but he was rebuffed. 222
The federal attorney general, however, could not charge the suspects with culpable homicide,
arson, or rioting—which are triable only in state courts—so he had to find federal offenses to
215 Letter from the Department of Public Prosecutions, Office of the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice,
Abuja, to Human Rights Watch, November 29, 2013.
216 Human Rights Watch interview with defense lawyer J.B. Danboyi, Jos, January 27, 2012.
217 Human Rights Watch interview with defense lawyer Ahmed Garba, Jos, January 26, 2012.
218 Human Rights Watch interview with a senior prosecutor in the Federal Attorney General’s Office, Abuja, July 14, 2010.
219 Human Rights Watch interview with Egoh Ahomafo, officer in charge of the Legal Department, Plateau State, Nigeria Police Force, Jos,
March 12, 2012.
220 Human Rights Watch interview with Edward Pwajok, Washington, DC, April 22, 2013.
221 Human Rights Watch interview with Edward Pwajok, Jos, March 12, 2012. He noted that: “We have Muslim judges and we have
Christian judges. But more importantly our judges are sworn on oath to do justice fair and justly, and they should not be biased at all.”
He added that there are both Muslims and Christians in the Plateau State Ministry of Justice. “When I go to assign a case, I don’t start
looking at whether somebody is a Muslim or a Christian.” Ibid. He later told Human Rights Watch that there were two Muslim judges on
the state High Court, out of 10 or 11 judges, and that about five state counsel are Muslim, out of a total of some 30 state counsel.
Human Rights Watch interview with Edward Pwajok, April 22, 2013. On the other hand, a Muslim defense lawyer alleged that although
there are a few Muslims in the state Ministry of Justice, “If there are any issues related to this crisis, they are not allowed to handle
those matters.” Human Rights Watch interview with a defense lawyer in Jos, 2012.
222 Human Rights Watch interview with Edward Pwajok, March 12, 2012.
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