UNITED –
President Bola Tinubu ordered an investigation into “this crisis”, promising “enough” since the dead numbers in less than two weeks in the central state exceeded 100.
The attack on Sunday night against the villages of Zike and Kimakpa, in the area of the local government of Bassa, occurs after armed men earlier this month attacked multiple villages in the Bokkos area, also in the central state of Plateau, killing 48.
The attack hit about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the capital of the state of Plateau, Jos.
Land disputes, or between Fulani Muslim shepherds and most Christian farmers are prone to descend to mortal violence in the plateau, especially in rural areas where the application of the law is largely absent and impunity is widespread.
“What we have recovered so far as bodies is 52. We are still looking for,” said the Red Cross official to the AFP, and added that they had registered 30, while 30 houses were burned.
The Amnesty International Global Rights Group put the death toll in 54 years, he said in an X position that he added that hundreds of people had been displaced since Sunday night’s attack.
Dorcas John, a resident of Zike, told AFP: “The attackers, unknown to us, entered the community and were shooting anywhere, and killed eight people.”
John Adamu, or Kimakpa, said the attackers killed 39 people in their town.
The reason for the murders and the identity of the attackers were unknown as of Monday. Police officers did not respond to a request for comments.
Help us improve Le Monde in English
Dear reader,
We would love to hear your thoughts about Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve you.
Take the survey
“I have ordered the security agencies that thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those response to orchestrate the thesis of violent acts,” said President Tinbu in a statement. “We cannot allow this devastation and Tit-For-Tat attacks continue. It is enough,” he said.
Intercommunal violence
Although millions of Nigerians or different origins live next to each other, intercom violence often explodes in the state of plateau. Researchers say that the drivers of the conflict on the plateau are often complicated.
As the most populous country in Africa has continued to grow, and the amount of land that farmers use, while grazing routes have been under stress due to climate change.
He grabs the country and political and economic tensions among local “indigenous” and those considered strange, as well as the influx of Muslim preachers and hard -line Christians, have high divisions in recent decades. When violence stands out, weak surveillance almost guarantees retaliation attacks, experts say.
Last week, Army troops recovered the headless body of a 16 -year -old Fulani shepherd in the Bassa area. His cattle was also stolen.
After the murders in Bokkos earlier this month, a local official tolerated the reporters that violence was the result of “ethnic and religious cleaning” by the attackers “who speak the Fulani dialect.”
A local shepherd association criticized comments, saying that the Fulfulde language, as is formally known, is widely ghost in the country, “even (by) criminals.”
The Muslim community group Jni warned after last week’s attack: “We fear that things work, if they are not well managed, it could lead to anarchy.”
The Plateau state government condemned the most recent murders “in strong terms”, calling them “not caused.” The State Information and Communication Commissioner, Joyce Ramnap, said that the “series of attacks represents an existential threat to the lives and livelihoods of people who love the State’s peace.”
Isa Sanusi, director of the country of Amnesty International in Nigeria, condemned the last murders and asked President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent panel “to investigate the failure of the team of security agencies to stop blood spill.” “The bloodshed must end now, and suspended perpetrators brought to justice,” Sanusi told AFP.
]
