Killings in North-central spreading – Rights Watch

Killings in the North-central zone of the country are spreading and pose a dangerous trend for the whole country, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday.
The New York-based right group added that over 100 people have been killed in herdsmen and farmers clash on issues centered on ownership of land.

Its Africa Director, Daniel Bekele, said: “The lack of justice for years of violence resulting from inter-communal tensions has created a combustible situation. The government needs to ensure full criminal investigations and provide justice for the victims and their families.”

It said adding to the overall tension in the central region, a bomb explosion on April 14, 2014, killed more than 71 people and injured hundreds others in Nyanya, in the Abuja suburbs.
“The attack, occurring during an early morning peak period and at a usually crowded commuter motor park, appeared aimed at achieving a high casualty rate. The recent conflicts have taken a very high toll in lives and livelihoods and led to the displacement of hundreds of people, who have sought refuge in neighbouring urban areas.”

According to the group, since mid-December 2013, accusations of attacks by herdsmen against farmers in rural parts of Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue states have intensified. And on January 6, 2014, armed men described by residents as “herdsmen” attacked Bachit and Shonong communities in Riyom in Plateau state and killed an estimated 36 people. Attacks on Wase and Barkin Ladi communities in Plateau state killed 22 and 13 people, respectively. In Kaura, part of Kaduna state, early morning raids by unidentified gunmen on February 3 and March 15, left 30 and 100 people dead, respectively.