900 died in Jos
2002-09-18 22:54
Lagos - More than 900 people died and property worth $25m was destroyed in a communal clash in the Nigerian city of Jos last
September, according to the judge heading an official inquiry.
The Wednesday edition of the Lagos newspaper This Day quoted
Justice Niki Tobi as he submitted to the Plateau state governor his
final report into the September 2001 clashes between Muslims and
Christians in Jos.
Evidence given to the nine-member commission of inquiry
indicated that 915 people died and property worth 3 billion naira
(about $25m) was destroyed in the violence, Tobi
said.
He said some villages around Jos were totally destroyed.
For several days last September, armed gangs of Christian and
Muslim men roamed the streets of Jos bent on killing members of the
other religion. Bodies were strewn about the city's streets, some
victims were burnt alive at roadblocks and churches and mosques
were set ablaze.
Thousands of people fled the city or sought refuge with the
police, who could not contain the violence.
Reports at the time said the clashes began after a Moslem
settler was appointed to a key position in the local
administration.
Located some 1 000km northeast of Lagos, Jos is
predominantly Christian, but with a large Muslim minority and was
once renowned for the tolerance that existed between the two
communities.
The death toll established by the commission is much higher than that claimed by government officials or other sources in the wake of last year's violence.
The Red Cross put the death toll at 165, the number of bodies
brought to local hospitals, while the national newspaper The Times reported that unofficial sources said as many as 500 people had been killed.
Governor Joshua Dariye said on Tuesday the full report will not yet be made public but promised to act on its recommendations.
Tobi appealed for tolerance among the people of Plateau state in settling the question of land ownership in Jos.
"Unless the government and people of Plateau recognize and
identify the ownership of Jos as recommended by the commission,
there will be no end to crises in Jos in particular, and the state in general," he told This Day. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA