Over 380 bodies were buried yesterday in the Dogo-Na-Hawa village, in the central Plateau state of Nigeria where renewed violence erupted. The country's main newspapers reported on March 9 the new violence as clashes between local herders and farmers in the Jos area.
The latest toll – still not confirmed by Iternational Committee of the Red Cross – was released by the heads of the Plateau emergency committee. According to the chairman of the committee, Salomon Zang, in addition to the 387 buried in mass-graves in Dogo-Na-Hawa, there were also the 36 killed in other villages on the outskirts of the state capital Jos. Some reports suggest that at least 500 people, mostly Christians, were murdered during the post midnight hours on March 8.
Papers indicate a possible connection of the violence with the sacking of the National Security Adviser, Sarki Mukhtar - a Muslim - by acting President Goodluck Jonathan. This decision and appointing of Aliyu Gusau in his place are in reality read differently depending on the Nigerian newspapers, which connect the change to the institutional crisis caused by the poor health of the Head of State Umaru Yar’Adua.
According to the local media, the killings were a result of clashes between the mostly Christian Berom farmers and mostly Muslim herders of the Fulani ethnic group over land and resources. The Fulanis attacked Berom homes at approximately 2 AM on March 8, wielding machetes, as well as spears and bows.
Both Christian and Muslim religious leaders of the country attributed economic and social factors to the recent violence in the Jos region. Catholic Archbishop of Abuja John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, described the violence as “a classic example of conflicts between herders and farmers”, denouncing distortions of the news. “Given that the Fulani herders are Muslims and farmers Christians, the international media tends to suggest that Christians and Muslims are killing each other”, said the archbishop to Vatican Radio
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