Plateau: Where Peace is Murdered
Plateau State which used to bear the appellation ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’ has metamorphosed into a killing field in recent years on account of sectarian violence. The 3.2 million populations of the state are composed of over 50 ethnic groups out of Nigeria’s 374 groups, making the state a miniature Nigeria in terms of diversity. However, cyclical violence on the Jos Plateau has exerted a huge toll on lives, investments, mutual trust, and the national image...
Rising insecurity in Abuja
On the evening of 2 February 2020, a fully loaded Toyota Previa bus was forced off the Piri-Kwali road in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital by gunmen who shot at the vehicle. The spokesman for the FCT Command of Nigeria’s Police, DSP Anjuguri Manzah said that four suspected kidnappers were arrested and “some of the passengers were rescued by a joint effort of the police and some youths of the nearby community, while others were still with the kidnappers.”...
Growing impact of the Pastoral Conflict
Currently, large parts of the Middle Belt region in central Nigeria– a broad expanse of territory that roughly incorporates the states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the southern parts of Borno, Gombe, Kebbi, Kaduna and Yobe – is experiencing an escalation of the conflict between herders and farmers that has left hundreds of citizens dead, including women and children, and the destruction of property...
The Pastoral Conflict takes a deadlier turn
Hassana Abdullahu was three days old. She was killed at Shefaran village, Numan Local Government Area, Adamawa State on Tuesday, 21 November, 2017. Shikaan Junior Kende was a year old. He was killed, alongside his father, Shikaan Senior, in Saghev, Guma Local Government Area, Benue State, on Tuesday, 2 January, 2018...
Understanding the flow of the Pastoral Conflict
Prior to the recent escalations, herdsmen would graze in public areas and trade with farmers for leftovers to feed their flock. However, security problems, porous borders leading to easy flow of arms, desertification, and an increase in the number of cattle, coupled with a rise in the population of farmers and improper planning by the authorities, the resources along the routes could not sustain both communities and the herdsmen resorted to violence to take what they would have traded for before...
The deepening Pastoral Conflict
The pastoral conflict, which we have talked about in previous reports, is expanding, and deepening. Many communities, Fulani and non-Fulani alike, are beginning to take matters into their own hands. In the final analysis, this conflict is not just a discussion about ethnicity or religion, it is a conversation about the sanctity of economic institutions like property rights. Nigeria cannot build a proper economy if basic property rights can be so casually violated as we have seen repeatedly. The discussion is also a conversation about security and the rights of states. We are seeing some state governors trying to legislate proactively at least. The lack of national leadership on this issue is unfortunate...
The tragedy in Benue – Zaki Biam through the eyes of people there
Fifty. That is the minimum number of people residents say were killed in an attack on the evening of Monday, 20 March, 2017 by gunmen on the yam market in Zaki Biam, Benue State. Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, has said that the number of dead is less than twenty...
Death and the Herdsmen – A report on spreading pastoralist violence in Nigeria
In the early hours of Monday, April 25th, 2016, destruction was unleashed upon Ukpabi-Nimbo, a sleepy village in Uzo-Uwani LGA of Enugu State. Scores of heavily armed Fulani herdsmen executed a ferocious attack on the community, killing dozens and seriously injuring a large number of others...
Terror in Nigeria’s Food Basket – A report on the violence in the Middle Belt
Between 2009 when Mohammed Yusuf was killed and now, the death toll of the Boko Haram insurgency is estimated to be 17,000, putting the annual average at 2,500. This is the very significant. But in 2015 so far, the death toll in another crisis in the Middle Belt of Nigeria stands at nearly 2,000, rivalling the annual Boko Haram average. Unfortunately, this crisis has been neglected and ignored...