11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: A mosque being built on schoolground was demolished, leading to distruction of churches in December 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23716]

"On December 11, violence erupted in Yelwa, Bauchi State, following the demolition of a mosque by persons who were allegedly upset that it was being constructed on the grounds of a public secondary school. In retaliation, Muslim youths destroyed churches and properties belonging to Christian residents. Many residents fled their homes during the violence and remain in neighboring villages. The military was deployed to the area and imposed a curfew to calm the violence."

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04.02.2008 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Bauchi State: At least one person dead and 5 seriously injured in violent clash between Muslim mob and police over a woman accused of blaspheming the prophet Mohammed ("Deadly sectarian riot over alleged blasphemy") [ID 22641]

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14.12.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Bauchi State: At least 6 people killed and 30 critically injured in clashes between Muslim and Christian communities ("At least six dead in sectarian violence") [ID 22642]

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05.2007 - Source: US Commission on International Religious Freedom

Bauchi, Plateau State and Jigawa State: During sectarian clashes churches burned, 20 Christians killed and 1000 displaced ("Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom") [ID 20781]

"Also in February 2006, students at a secondary school in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Koran improperly. In a subsequent demonstration that turned violent, two churches were burned and approximately 20 Christians were killed. The teacher reportedly came in contact with a copy of the Koran after taking it from a student who was reading it while class was in session. According to the State Department, although 25 arrests were made, the case was being handled as a state security matter with little information publicly available. In April 2006 in Plateau state, at least 25 people, both Christian and Muslim, were killed and hundreds fled their homes during sectarian clashes over land ownership between the Pan and Gomai people. In September 2006, a mob of Muslim youths injured six Christians and burned nearly a dozen churches in the predominantly Muslim town of Dutse, capital of Jigawa state in northern Nigeria. The attacks were sparked by allegations that a Christian woman had blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad. Demanding that 99 she be stoned, angry Muslims incited a riot, destroying churches, 20 Christian homes, and 40 shops, leaving more than 1,000 Christians displaced. According to news reports, 25 persons were arrested in that incident. As of this writing, none of those arrested have been prosecuted."

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06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi state: In February students threatened Christian teacher for handling the Koran; subsequent demonstrations resulted in burning of churches and killing of 20 Christians ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19737]

"Also in February Muslim students at a secondary school in Bauchi Sate reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Koran when she took it from a student who was reading it during class. A subsequent demonstration resulted in the burning of two churches and the killing of approximately 20 Christians; approximately 25 persons reportedly were arrested. The government handled the case as a state security matter and had released little information publicly by year's end. There were reports that some of the defendants were taken to Jos in Plateau State, where they were granted bail, and that others were taken to Abuja. Christian religious leaders in Bauchi have been unable to make contact with the teacher, who was reportedly transported out of the state for her protection."

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15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: In December 2004 conviction of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery 3 months earlier was overturned for lack of evidence ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17800]

"In September 2004 in Bauchi State, Daso Adamu, a nursing mother, was sentenced to death by stoning when she initially admitted to having sex with her first husband after her second husband absconded. The man was freed for lack of evidence. In October 2004 she was released on bail on the grounds that she was breastfeeding. In December 2004 a Shari'a appeals court vacated the conviction and sentence, ruling that her pregnancy was insufficient evidence to convict her. In October 2004 in Bauchi State, Hajara Ibrahim was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery after becoming pregnant outside of wedlock. According to the Shari'a court that convicted her, she confessed to having sex with a man who had promised to marry her. The man denied meeting her and was released for lack of evidence. The defendant appealed the sentence, stating that she should have been charged with the lesser crime of fornication, rather than adultery. In November 2005 a Shari'a appeals court overturned the conviction and sentence, ruling that she had never consummated an arranged marriage and therefore should never have been charged with adultery. It appeared that the prosecution in the case had not pursued the fornication charge subsequent to the court's ruling."

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15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: Nigeria Legal Aid Council agreed to appeal 30 Sharia convictions and death sentences ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17801]

"The Nigeria Legal Aid Council agreed to appeal thirty Shari'a convictions and death sentences in Bauchi State. In one case from September 2004, an eighteen-year-old man, Saleh Dabo, alleged that police told him he could plead guilty to rape and he would be released; instead, a court sentenced him to death by stoning for adultery, even though he was not married. At the end of the period covered by this report, the appeal had not been heard, and the sentence had not been carried out."

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15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: In February students reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Qur'an; in a subsequent demonstration 2 churches were burned, 20 Christians killed ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17813]

"Also in February students at a secondary school in Bauchi Sate reportedly threatened a Christian teacher for handling the Qur'an, and in a subsequent demonstration that turned violent, two churches were burned and approximately twenty Christians were killed. The teacher came in contact with a copy of the Qur'an while taking it from a student who was reading it while class was in session. While approximately twenty-five arrests were believed to have been made, the case was being handled as a state security matter with little information publicly available. Some of the defendants may have been taken to Jos and were believed to have been granted bail, and some of the defendants were believed to have been taken to Abuja. Christian religious leaders in Bauchi were unable to make contact with the teacher, Florence Chuckwu."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: Nigeria Legal Aid Council appeals 30 Shari'a convictions and death sentences ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17280]

"The Nigeria Legal Aid Council agreed to appeal 30 Shari'a convictions and death sentences in Bauchi State. In one case, an 18-year-old man, Saleh Dabo, alleged that police told him he could plead guilty to rape, and he would be released; instead, a court sentenced him to death by stoning for adultery, even though he is not married. The appeal had not yet been heard."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Muslim students abducted and killed the head of a Christian campus organisation ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17283]

"In December 2004 at a major university in Bauchi State, a group of Muslim students abducted and killed the head of a Christian campus organization in retaliation for what they considered to be insults to Islam by Christian students. As tensions grew and some property was vandalized, authorities responded by closing the university and a nearby polytechnic school and by establishing an interfaith dialogue. Both the university and the polytechnic school reopened during the year, and while tension remained between the campus Christian and Muslim communities, there was no further violence during the year. There were no arrests for the killing."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

8 persons killed due to communal conflict on 5-6 March 2005 along the border of Jigawa and Bauchi State ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17441]

"On March 5-6, ongoing communal conflict along the border of Jigawa and Bauchi States flared up, injuring dozens and killing up to eight persons. The conflict occurred over the location of a 300-year-old public market that had been controversially relocated in 2004 from a village in Jigawa State to a neighboring village in Bauchi State. Fighting between the two groups was reportedly sparked by a Bauchi legislator's comment that the market would never be returned to Jigawa. In response to the violence the Jigawa State government set up an ad hoc committee, headed by the state commissioner of information, to identify the root causes of the conflict and recommend solutions. Although the committee submitted its report to the governor in March, the report was not made public."

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29.08.2001 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Bauchi State: 15 people killed in renewed clashes between Christians and Muslims; fighting between Christian Jarawas and Sayawas and Hausa-Fulani Muslims ("Nigeria: Renewed Christian-Muslim clashes claim lives") [#3831],  [ID 15119]

"Renewed fighting between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria's northern Bauchi State over plans by the government to introduce strict Islamic law has claimed several lives, witnesses said on Wednesday. The latest outbreak of violence in the Tafawa Balewa local government council involves two communities, the mainly Christian Kutaru and the predominantly Muslim Zwall. "Fighting broke out last week and no fewer than 15 people have been killed while many more have been injured," Musa Kaltung, a bus driver who travelled through the area en route to Lagos, told IRIN. Nigerian Red Cross officials said fighting between Christian Jarawas and Sayawas and Hausa-Fulani Muslims in June and July left more than 400 people dead and more than 22,000 displaced. The tense situation was just being brought under control when the latest clashes erupted, they said."

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