Nigeria: Prevent Further Bloodshed in Plateau State

Nigeria: Prevent Further Bloodshed in Plateau State
Government Should Investigate Yelwa Massacre, Provide Security

(London, May 11, 2004) - The Nigerian government should immediately conduct an
independent investigation into the massacre of several hundred people in Yelwa on May
2, Human Rights Watch said today. The federal and state authorities should also take
concrete steps to prevent a further escalation of interethnic violence in Plateau State.

"Unlike the findings of previous commissions of inquiry, the results of this investigation
should be made public and acted upon," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of
Human Rights Watch's Africa Division.

Armed members of the predominantly Christian Tarok ethnic group on May 2 attacked
the town of Yelwa, in the southern part of Plateau State, apparently in reprisal for earlier
attacks against Taroks by members of the predominantly Muslim Fulani ethnic group.
Local sources described the attack on Yelwa, where the majority of the population is
Fulani, as devastating.

Several hundred people were killed according to credible accounts based on the
testimonies of local residents, although an accurate death toll is not yet available. The
perpetrators used fire arms and machetes, and the victims were buried in several mass
graves. There was also widespread destruction in the town. Thousands of inhabitants of
Yelwa have been displaced, and the area has become extremely polarized.

The attack on Yelwa followed a string of earlier attacks and counterattacks by Taroks and
Fulanis, who have been engaged in a prolonged conflict over land use as well as political
and economic control.

Human Rights Watch called on the Nigerian government to bring to justice those
responsible for the Yelwa killings, particularly leaders who orchestrated the attacks. To
prevent a further spread of violence, the authorities should take concrete measures
including deploying an adequate number of police in areas of tension and disarming local
militia in the state.

Plateau State has been ravaged by interethnic conflict since an unprecedented outbreak of
violence in the state capital, Jos, claimed as many as one thousand lives in September
2001. The government set up a commission of inquiry into the violence in Jos, but has
still not published its findings. Hundreds of people-both Taroks and Fulanis-have been
killed in different parts of the state since 2002. The fighting around Yelwa has intensified
since February 2004, when scores of people died, including around 50 Taroks reportedly
killed by Fulanis in Yelwa at the end of February.

"In light of the pattern of violence in Plateau State over recent months, with each
community seeking to avenge attacks by their opponents, the latest outbreak should have
come as no surprise to federal and state authorities," said Takirambudde. "Yet the
Nigerian government took no action to preempt the massacre."

Human Rights Watch denounced the failure of the Nigerian government and the security
forces to provide security to the population of Plateau State. In the latest incident, police
and army reinforcements were only sent to Yelwa after hundreds of people had already
been killed.

"The government's neglect of the situation in Plateau over the last three years has
resulted in an endless cycle of revenge," Takirambudde said. "Not only have the police
been unwilling or unable to stop the fighting, but the government has not taken
responsibility for finding a lasting solution to the crisis."

For background information on the conflict in Plateau State and details of the killings in
Jos in 2001, see Human Rights Watch report "Jos: A City Torn Apart," December 2001.
(http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/nigeria/)