Source:

About 20 persons killed in clashes between Moslems and Christians near Jos [ID 15104]

"In Nigeria sind etwa 20 Menschen bei Zusammenstößen zwischen Moslems und Christen getötet worden. Der britische Sender BBC berichtete am Mittwoch in seinem Online-Dienst, eine moslemische Miliz habe ein christliches Dorf in der Nähe von Jos überfallen. Dorfbewohner und Militärs hätten die Täter in die Flucht geschlagen. Einige seien erschossen worden. Die Polizei vermutet, dass der bereits am Sonntag verübte Überfall ein Racheakt für die Ermordung hunderter Menschen im September in Jos war. Die Milizionäre gehörten zu den überwiegend moslemischen Volksgruppen der Haussa und Fulani. Die Stadt Jos wird mehrheitlich von Christen bewohnt."

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Plateau State: Hausa and Fulani claim to face discrimination from government ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23767]

"In Plateau State, the Hausa and Fulani, most of whom were Muslim and considered nonindigenes, claimed to face significant discrimination from the local government in scholarships and government representation."

Document(s): Open document

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."

Document(s): Open document

09.04.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: Jos is economically depressed and religiously divided; programme officer for the NGO League for Human Rights sees risk of religious violence with elections ("Jos voters angry and divided") [ID 19633]

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Plateau State: Communal conflicts in 2004 led to the deaths of thousands and a several-month-long state of emergency; in April 2006 25 persons were killed in fightings between Pan and Gomai people ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17809]

"It is not unusual for different ethnic groups with a long history of conflict to have adopted different religions with the effect of exacerbating existing tensions. Communal conflicts in Plateau and Kano States in 2004 led to the deaths of thousands and a several-month-long states of emergency in Plateau State. There have been incidents of violence in Plateau State since, but not on the scale of the previous reporting period. For example, in April 2006 at least twenty-five persons were killed and hundreds fled their homes during fighting between the Pan and Gomai people of Plateau state over land ownership."

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Plateau state: Anger over rigged elections and corruption incited tensions between Muslims and Christians in 2004 ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 18283]

"[cf. Anambra state, july 2003, note from ACCORD] A similar drama played out between the governor of Plateau state and his political opponents. Community anger over reportedly rigged elections followed by inflammatory actions and corruption by the governor ignited Muslim-Christian tensions in the state, leading to religious riots in several cities across Nigeria and prompting the president to impose six months of emergency rule in Plateau starting in May 2004."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Hundreds of youths rioted on 12 November; they claim to be indigenous Pan ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17442]

"On November 12, hundreds of youths rioted in eastern Plateau State over the formation of a new development area. The rioters claimed to be indigenous Pan, as opposed to Hausa/Fulani settlers (Namu). The new area, located around Namu town, was named Namu, while the rioting youths insisted it should be named Pan."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: National Assembly has approved eight new laws giving President Obasanjo sweeping powers in Plateau State/ the police and other security services got the power to detain people indefinitely, conduct searches without warrants, impose curfews and ban public processions ("Legislators give Obasanjo sweeping powers in Plateau") [#23016],  [ID 14890]

"Nigeria’s National Assembly has approved eight new laws giving President Olusegun Obasanjo sweeping powers in strife-torn Plateau State where he imposed a state of emergency last month after a surge in inter-ethnic and religious violence.

The laws approved by the two-chamber legislature on Tuesday gave the police and other security services the power to detain people indefinitely, conduct searches without warrants, impose curfews and ban public processions. [...]

On Tuesday, 15 such groups jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Plateau State emergency regime.

Chima Ubani, director of the Civil Liberties Organisation, one of the groups challenging Obasanjo’s declaration of emergency rule through the courts, said the eight laws passed by the legislature confirmed his organisation's fears that human rights would suffer in Plateau State. [...]

According to Ubani, the new laws empower the interim administrator of Plateau State to detain anyone in the state “even with an oral directive.” [...]

However, Ubani said the new administrator appointed by Obasanjo was empowered to detain individuals indefinitely without even giving a written order.

He also noted that any member of the security forces with the rank of captain or above was authorised to order the search of any premises without a warrant."

Document(s): Open document

07.05.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau state, Yelwa: more than 600 people were killed when militiamen from a mainly Christian ethnic group attacked Muslims ("Muslim death toll in raid on Yelwa tops 600 - Red Cross") [#22016],  [ID 15254]

"More than 600 people were killed when militiamen from a mainly Christian ethnic group attacked Muslims in a small town in central Nigeria last weekend, a Red Cross official said Friday.

A heavily armed group of militiamen from the mainly Christian Tarok ethnic group raided the small town of Yelwa in Plateau state on Sunday in reprisal for an earlier Muslim attack on their own community. Their victims were mainly members of the Hausa and Fulani tribes. [...]

The Tarok are farmers from Plateau state who are mostly Christian and Animist. Those they attacked in Yelwa were mainly Hausa and Fulani nomadic herdsmen and itinerant traders who have migrated into region from northern Nigeria over the past century. These northerners constituted a minority of the town's 10,000 population. [...]

More than 1,000 people are believed to have died in successive bouts of inter-communal violence in Plateau state so far this year."

Document(s): Open document

15.07.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: New fighting between Christians and Muslims ("Nigeria: Fresh violence in Plateau claims more lives") [#7830],  [ID 15101]

"At least 12 people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of ethnic and religious violence in Plateau State, central Nigeria, sources from the area said.
The latest round of clashes erupted on Wednesday in the town of Wase between Taroks, who are indigenous to the area, and Hausa-Fulani settlers, who originally came from farther north. "No fewer than 12 people have been killed and several houses have been destroyed," John Ibe, an area resident who escaped to the Plateau State capital, Jos, told IRIN.
State-owned Radio Nigeria in the northern town of Kaduna confirmed the clashes on Friday and quoted Plateau State Commissioner of Police Innocent Ilozuoke as saying 74 people had been arrested in connection with the violence. However, no casualty figures were given.
There have been intermittent clashes between Hausa-Fulanis, who are overwhelmingly Muslim, and mainly Christian indigenous people in Plateau State since September 2001, when at least 1,000 people were killed in a week of fighting in Jos between the two communities.
Indigenous people blame some of the attacks on Fulani herdsmen who, they say, have been seeking to avenge the death of one of their chiefs in the September Jos conflict. The herdsmen in turn accuse the indigenes of giving them ultimatums to leave land which, for decades, had been their traditional grazing areas."

Document(s): Open document

02.01.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: 17 people killed and several injured in an attack by armed men on a village near Jos ("Nigeria: 3,000 flee to Jos following militia attack") [#5122],  [ID 15105]

"More than 3,000 people have sought refuge at a military barracks in Jos, capital of central Nigeria's Plateau State, following an attack by armed men on a nearby village, police told IRIN on Wednesday. Seventeen people were killed and several others wounded in the attack, blamed on Muslim Hausa-Fulani militiamen, state officials told IRIN. Most of the people who have taken refuge at the Rukuba barracks are Hausa-Fulanis who fear retaliatory attacks, police said. Plateau Governor Joshua Dariye said the militia attacked Dagwom Turu village, Vwang district, in "a reprisal attack" for casualties suffered by Muslims during violent confrontations with local Christians in September 2001. Residents said over 40 militiamen, armed with guns, swords, bows and arrows, arrived in the village by bus."

Document(s): Open document

18.12.2001 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Plateau State: Report focused on mass killings in the city of Jos in September 2001; Christians and Muslims were both perpetrators and victims ("Jos: A City Torn Apart") [#5060],  [ID 15106]

"From September 7 to 13, 2001, Jos, the capital of Plateau State in central Nigeria, became the scene of mass killing and destruction for the first time in its recent history. Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands displaced in less than one week. Violence suddenly erupted between Christians and Muslims in a city where diverse communities had coexisted peacefully for years and which had prided itself on avoiding the inter-communal violence that had plagued neighboring states. While the total number of victims is not yet confirmed, initial figures compiled by local human rights groups, religious communities and other organizations indicate that more than 1,000 people were killed in just six days."

Document(s): Open document

17.09.2001 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: Some 300 people were arrested in connection with violent religious clashes between Muslim Hausa-Fulanis and Christian indigenes in the city of Jos that left at least 300 people dead ("Nigeria: Hundreds arrested over Jos violence") [#3986],  [ID 15115]

"Nigerian police have arrested some 300 people in connection with violent religious clashes in the central city of Jos some 10 days ago, AFP reported state television as saying on Sunday. It was not clear if anyone had been charged or whether anyone had been released after questioning and police were not available for comment, the French news agency reported. Violence erupted between Muslim Hausa-Fulanis and Christian indigenes on 7 September leaving at least 300 people dead, thousands displaced and buildings, including churches and mosques, destroyed."

Document(s): 02034nig.htm
Open document

15.09.2001 - Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung

Plateau State: More than 500 persons killed after religiously motivated violence in Jos ("Religiöse Kämpfe in Nigeria neu entbrannt") [#4068],  [ID 15112]

"Wie der Radiosender BBC am Freitag berichtete, dauerten die Kämpfe zwischen Muslimen und Christen in der zentralnigerianischen Stadt Jos an. Nach inoffiziellen Meldungen sollen seit Beginn der Ausschreitungen vor einer Woche mindestens 500 Menschen ums Leben gekommen sein. Auch in der nördlichen Stadt Kano hätten muslimische Jugendliche inzwischen randaliert und zwei Kirchen in Brand gesteckt. (...) Augenzeugen brachten die neuen Spannungen mit den Terrorakten in New York und Washington in Verbindung. Die Gräueltaten hätten Hunderte jubelnder fanatischer Muslime auf die Straßen der beiden Städte gebracht, meldeten lokale Zeitungen."

Document(s): Open document

10.09.2001 - Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung

Plateau State: Clashes between Christians and Muslims in the city of Jos, government sends out military ("50 Tote bei Straßenschlacht in Nigeria - Christen und Muslime in der Stadt Jos gingen mit Keulen und Äxten aufeinander los") [#4070],  [ID 15113]

"Militante Jugendliche beider Religionen gingen mit Keulen, Macheten und Äxten aufeinander los, außerdem wurden mindestens fünf Kirchen, eine Moschee und Hunderte von Autos in Brand gesteckt. Die Polizei versuchte vergeblich, die verfeindeten Gruppen mit Tränengas und Schüssen auseinander zu treiben. Augenzeugen berichteten, dass in den Straßen der Vier-Millionen-Stadt Dutzende von Leichen gelegen haben."

Document(s): Open document

10.09.2001 - Source: BBC News

Plateau State: More than 160 people reportedly killed after escalation of religious tension between Christians and Muslims in Jos ("Scores die in Nigeria clashes") [#3914],  [ID 15116]

"Reports from the central Nigerian city of Jos says more than 160 people have been killed in three days of violence between Muslims and Christians. Terrified residents described how armed gangs of youths were roaming the streets, attacking members of other communities. Thousands have sought refuge with police, and medical services have battled to cope with the numbers of dead and wounded. The northern city of Kano has also been hit by an outbreak of communal clashes, with a church set on fire. An official of the International Red Cross, Phillip Macham, said: "Our records, at this afternoon, show that 165 bodies have been deposited at various hospitals in Jos", but he warned that the final death toll may be even higher. He said that, in addition, more than 900 had been injured as rival gangs rampaged through the city of four million people. James Alalade, a pastor of the burnt church in Kano, told Reuters news agency: "They (youths) just came in with their weapons and petrol in cans and asked everybody out before setting the church ablaze. Nobody could stop them, they were heavily armed."

Document(s): 02009nig.htm
Open document

08.09.2001 - Source: Washington Post

Plateau State: Fighting between Muslims and Christians erupted in a northern Nigerian city at the time of Muslim prayers ("Religious Violence Jolts Nigerian City") [#3894],  [ID 15118]

Document(s): 01997nig.htm
Open document