THE SLAUGHTER IN JOS

Background

On 8^th March 2010 it was reported that Islamic Fulani herdsmen carried out a carefully planned murderous assault on Christians of the Berom ethnic group in Jos at around 3.00am in the morning in which over 500 men women and children were slaughtered. The reports said that the attackers stationed themselves at the exit points from the villages before firing gunshots into the air to panic the villagers out of their houses in the dead of night where they were then hacked to death. The attacks are said to have been organised to avenge an attack by Chritians on Muslims in Jos in January which were reported to have resulted in more than 200 deaths.

Statement

1. We condemn this cycle of bloodletting by Nigerians upon Nigerians.
2. In the circumstances where the Nigerian army had been deployed to keep the peace in Jos since the incidents in January, and in view of the long experience of our armed forces in peacekeeping operations on behalf of the UN throughout Africa, we struggle to understand how an operation of this scale and nature could have been carried out under their watch.
3. Responsibility for the recurrence of these incidents must also lie in part with members of this administration who have failed to rise to their responsibilities to the Nigerian people.
4. We note that amongst the Yoruba ethnic group, at least, communities and families  have near equal numbers of Muslims and Christians who happily co-exist which leads us to the conclusion that although religious differences are a factor in these clashes, it is differences of ethnicity that are the operative cause.
5. We believe that a permanent solution to these ethnic clashes requires a constitutional arrangement in which each of Nigeria’s ethnic groups can find security.
6. We continue to stress the common root of Christianity and Islam in the book of Genesis from which this organisation takes its name and we continue to deplore the abuse of faith for financial and political advancement.
7. We wish to take this opportunity to voice our sympathy to all victims of the recent troubles