The Plateau State Youth Council (PSYC) has rejected a recent High Court judgment that reportedly granted indigeneship status to the Hausa-Fulani community in Jos North Local Government Area, describing the ruling as a threat to the identity, history and constitutional rights of indigenous ethnic groups in the area.
The council called on the Jos North Local Government Council and the Plateau State Attorney-General to immediately appeal the judgment delivered by Justice D.D. Donglong in the case of *Fatima Baba Akawu & Anor v. Jos North Local Government Council*.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Public Relations Officer, Bahal Mark, the council expressed concern that the ruling could undermine the ancestral heritage of the Afizere, Anaguta and Berom ethnic nationalities, which it identified as the indigenous groups of Jos North.
The council warned that allowing the judgment to stand could further strain the fragile peace and social cohesion built in Plateau State after years of ethno-religious conflict.
It maintained that while all Hausa and Fulani residents are entitled to full constitutional rights as Nigerian citizens, citizenship does not automatically confer indigeneship status. It cited Section 318(1) of the Constitution, arguing that indigene status is rooted in ancestral and native community identity.
The PSYC further argued that residence or birth in an area, without ancestral or communal ties, should not qualify a person as an indigene, adding that such interpretation could have wider constitutional and political implications across the country.
The council also criticised the handling of the case by the Jos North Local Government Council, alleging that it failed to adequately defend the interests of indigenous communities during the proceedings.
It warned that the judgment could embolden what it described as attempts at political and demographic dominance over indigenous communities in their ancestral homeland, thereby heightening tensions in the state.
The youth council further stated that the Hausa-Fulani community has not been recognised as a constituent ethnic nationality within the Plateau Initiative for the Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), insisting that it does not belong to the body.
While reaffirming confidence in the judiciary, the PSYC said that if the principle established by the judgment is to stand, it should be applied uniformly across all states of the federation without discrimination.
It urged youths in Plateau to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding while pursuing redress through legal and constitutional means, stressing that peace, justice and protection of indigenous identity must remain central to the state’s stability.