NIGERIA: Archbishop laments death of 150 in attacks
By John Newton
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos in Nigeria
Watch an interview with John Newton of Aid to the Church in Need about the violence in Nigeria
A senior bishop in Nigeria has spoken about the recent killings that left between 100 and 150 dead.
Aid to the Church in Need spoke to Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos about the killings in villages outside Jos which occurred over the weekend.
Archbishop Kaigama said: “All I know is [on Sunday, 7th March] at 2am in the morning a group of people – we don’t know their identity – surrounded the village, and attacked it.
“They even killed women and children.”
He added: “Usually in conflict you protect children – but they had no pity even on the little ones.”
The attackers used rifles, knives, cutlasses and similar weapons, leaving many victims with cut wounds.
After wounding and killing residents in Dogo-Nahawa they then moved on to attack three nearby villages.
According to the parish priest of Saint Thomas Shen Church between 100 and 150 were killed.
Archbishop Kaigama said the assailants were thought to have come from a neighbouring state, bypassing security. The area around Jos has been under a military curfew since January, when at least 200 people died in violence.
He said that it is strongly believed that the attacks may be related to violence that erupted earlier in January this year.
He described the killings at the weekend as “very tragic,” adding: “Everybody is very sad about it.”
Earlier this year the president established a peace committee to deal with tensions in the regions.
Following the recent violence it met for the first time on Monday, 8th March, chaired by Chief Solomon Lar, the first civilian governor of Plateau State.
Its other 26 members are ex-governors, ex-generals, religious leaders and elders representing different tribes.
Archbishop Kaigama said: “This shows they are serious. It was a sign of solidarity, everyone who spoke was very upset.”
He told Aid to the Church in Need: “We need to look for solutions. It’s too simplistic to say it’s just Christians fighting Muslims, that it’s a religious war.
“We need to look beyond that, we cannot say it’s just religious, we need a political and social solution – I said this at the conference.”
Reports suggest that the killings may have been motivated by tensions over grazing land, and the loss of cattle earlier this year.
A Mass is planned for Saturday, 19th March – and the archbishop called on Christians to pray for the country on that date.
Archbishop Kaigama said: “We will be gathering together – but the people need to pray above all. Please remember us on 19th March.”