President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday called for calm after 86 people were killed in an attack by suspected nomadic herders against farming communities in the restive center of the country. some reports say fighting began on Thursday when ethnic Berom farmers attacked Fulani herders, killing five of them. A retaliatory attack on Saturday led to more deaths. The area has a decades-long history of violence between ethnic groups competing for land. Earlier, dozens of people were killed in a similar round of violence between Fulani herders and local hunters in Mali.
The plateau state government said it had imposed restrictions on movement in the Riyom, Barikin Ladi an d Jos south areas “to avert a breakdown of law and order”. “The curfew takes effect immediately… and movement is restricted from 6:00 pm(1700 GMT) to 6:00 am, except (for) those on essential duties,” spokesman Rufus Bature said.
On Sunday, ethnic Berom youths set up barricades on the Jos-Abuja highway and attacked motorists who looked “Fulani and Muslim”, according to those who escaped the violence. Plateau state governor Simon Lalong promised that ” operational plans are currently being put in place to secure the affected communities and fish out perpetrators of these crimes. “While we pray for Gods guidance through this difficult time, we will do everything humanly possible to secure our state immediately.”
