A series of armed attacks occurred between 23 and 25 December 2023 in

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

in central Nigeria. They affected at least 17 rural communities in the Nigerian local government areas of

Bokkos Bokkos is a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bokkos at . History The Plateau State University, located in Bokkos, was suspended in 2007 and later reopened in 2012. Recent Violence and Conflic ...

and Barkin Ladi, resulting in at least 200 deaths and injuries to more than 500 people as well as significant property damage. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, they are believed to have been committed by Fulani militias.

Background

is in Nigeria's

Middle Belt Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt) or Central Nigeria is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is ...

and has a history of ethnic and religious conflicts, mainly between Muslim Fulani herders and Christian farmers. The bandit conflict began in 2011 as a result of disagreements over

land ownership In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...

and

grazing rights Grazing rights is the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed (graze) in a given area. United States Grazing rights have never been codified in United States law, because such common-law rights derive from the English concept of the ...

between the herders and farmers. Banditry and insecurity are exacerbated by Nigeria's high

fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...

(5.3 as of 2023), with the large youth population suffering from unemployment and

underemployment Underemployment is the underuse of a worker because their job does not use their skills, offers them too few hours, or leaves the worker idle. It is contrasted with unemployment, where a person lacks a job at all despite wanting one. Examples ...

that makes them susceptible to radicalism and banditry.

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and the expansion of agriculture also lead to increased conflict. Previous attacks occurred in the region in April 2022 and May 2023.

Miyetti Allah Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (sometimes also called MACBAN) is a loose partisan advocacy group centered on promoting the welfare of Fulani pastoralists in Nigeria. The organization was founded in the early 1970s with headq ...

(MACBAN), an advocacy group for

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

interests, accused state security personnel of colluding with farmers to attack Fulani herders. Muhammed Nuru Abdullahi, the state chairman of the MACBAN, claimed the violence began with a failed act of "

cattle rustling Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

" against Fulani on 23 December, where three cattle breeders were killed and the theft of 181 cows was attempted, and that 130 houses were burned in several Fulani villages on 24 December. He recommended that "in order to end the incessant clashes between farmers and herders, the Federal Government should establish

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

es in Plateau State and other states of the Federation for

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

Attacks

At least 17 rural communities in the regions of

and Barkin Ladi were attacked on 23 and 24 December, leaving at least 200 people dead and over 500 wounded. The attackers, who used guns and machetes, burned houses and other property. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Since 2014, attacks on

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

farmers in the region have been blamed on "semi-nomadic Fulani herders" who have "long complained that farmers are taking over grazing lands crucial to their survival".

Aftermath

The

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

began "clearance operations" to find suspects in the attacks afterwards. Some victims reported that it took more than twelve hours for the security forces to respond after the attacks. The attacks prompted outrage, with residents demanding justice and government protection. Governor

Caleb Mutfwang Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang (born 12 March 1965) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is the current List of governors of Plateau State, governor of Plateau State since 2023. He is a former Chairman of Mangu, Nigeria, Mangu Local Government Area ...

condemned the violence. His response faced criticism, and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

called for an independent investigation. The international community, including the United Nations, African Union, European Union, and the United States, expressed condemnation and offered support. After the attacks, photos of the 2022 Owo church attack circulated on social media with miscaptioned labels suggesting they were from the massacres in Plateau State. On 8 January 2024, around 5,000 Nigerian Christians rallied in

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

, the capital of Plateau State, to protest over insecurity. The protesters gathered outside of the office of the local governor of Jos to call for peace. Plateau State governor

restated his vows to bring the perpetrators of the massacres to justice.

References

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