The Bauchi Police Command, on Sunday, February 26, 2012, paraded seven Christian men it alleged were in possession of explosive devices with which they intended to use to destructive effect at the Church of Christ in Nigeria {COCIN}. The Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Ayo Aduba, said the suspects were picked up in Miya Barakatai in Toro Local Government adding: “They are rival groups within the church, they have their internal problems and the other rival group decided to attack them…When we got the report, we sent our men, they have arrested about seven of them. They have something on them that was certified as locally made explosives that are manually ignited”.
While the Bauchi Command and indeed all Nigerians were celebrating the success of their men in foiling what could have ended in another tragic bombing incident, men of the Plateau Police Command and the Joint Task Force deployed to the state top help with security enforcement had nothing to celebrate as a bomb went off at a COCIN branch where the state Governor, David Jang, worships. About six persons were reported to have lost their lives in that sad incident.
Perhaps as a result of the deaths and the fact that in a different circumstance, the governor himself might have been a target of the attack, many newspapers in the country led with that story the following day {Monday, February 27, 2012} and buried the Bauchi near mishap in the inside pages. In fact some newspapers effectively ignored it completely – either because they did not have it or they did so for other reasons best known to them. One can adduce however that those newspapers that chose to tuck the Bauchi story inside may have done so because the Christian would be bombers did not resonate with the predominant Christian press in the South. One can also say without fear of equivocation that had the suspects been Muslims, all the newspapers would have been awash with the story thus adding to the deepening chasm between Muslims and Christians in the country.
Daily Sun, for example, did not even deem the Bauchi story worthy of a mention on its front page even though it led with the Jos incident. It tucked the story on page 12 of the paper without highlighting what in fact makes the story significant: the suspects being Christians. The Punch also led with the same Jos story but unlike Daily Sun, it merged the Bauchi story with the lead but one has to be patient to read up to the 27th paragraph on page 14 to get details of the Bauchi story.
The Nation also led with the Jos story but buried the Bauchi story way down in the 35th paragraph of the lead. Only Daily Trust gave the Bauchi story some prominence by choosing it as its lead story while making the Jos story its second lead also on the Front page. Peoples Daily however promoted the Bauchi story on its front page and had the Jos incident in the inside page. Surprisingly, Leadership, a newspaper based here in the North with presumably a northern target audience, did not publish the Bauchi story even as it led with the Jos story.
The point of this little content analysis is essentially to highlight the role of the media in agenda setting. By this singular function, the media sometimes arrogates to itself the power of determining the tone of national discourse and by so doing gives the latitude for government and its agencies to determine the pace at which certain issues affecting society are handled. It has been well over a week since the Bauchi suspects were arrested for attempting to bomb the COCIN, but no follow up stories have been done especially by the southern press. As a result, the police themselves have not been forthcoming with developments in their investigations of the matter. If history is anything to go by, one can safely bet that that is the end of the matter. A Christian was also arrested last year in Edo state dressed in a turban while planning to detonate an explosive at a place of worship. Up until now, we still have not heard what has happened to that suspect.
If this turns out to be the case, it will have some implications for our security situation in the country. As things are now, the Police and other security forces have become utterly helpless in curtailing the deadly activities of the Boko Haram sect in many parts of the Northern states in spite of the supposed state of emergency put in place by the federal government. Almost on a daily basis we are regaled with reports of bomb blasts or gun shots in the major northern cities of Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Bauchi or Gombe with Boko Haram soon afterwards claiming responsibility for the attacks. What this suggests is that perhaps some of these attacks may not have been carried out by the dreaded sect but by other mischief makers who have been cashing in on the notoriety of the sect for their own ends. Because the sect has come to realize the importance of what media visibility can do for its misguided cause, it is often quick to take credit for what it might not have done.
This much was evident after the attack on the Koton Karfe prison in Kogi state where some inmates allegedly members of the sect were freed. Although the sect claimed responsibility, the Comptroller of Prisons and the minister of Interior have said that there is no proof yet that Boko Haram did carry out the attack. Earlier in the year also, an attack in Mubi, Adamawa state where an Igbo businessman was killed was later discovered to be as a result of a deal gone sour. This was after everyone believed it was carried out by Boko Haram and lavishly covered on the front pages of many Nigerian newspapers.
The arrest of the Christian suspects in Bauchi should provide an insight into the many dimensions of the security challenges facing the nation. If they had succeeded in their dastardly mission, chances are that Boko Haram would have been blamed for it – and they gladly would have taken responsibility, after all, it adds to their profile as a notorious gang that is winning its war against the Nigerian state.
No one in his right mind will attempt a defence of the atrocities of the sect and this is in no way an effort at that. Rather, a reminder for our security agencies to step up their efforts before they are overwhelmed by forces, not only Boko Haram, determined to cause chaos in the country.
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