2008 Jos riots

Causes

Electoral workers did not publicly list the winners of the elections, and rumours began that the election was won by the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), barrister Timothy Gyang Buba, defeating the candidate for the All Nigerian Peoples Party. People from the largely Muslim Hausa community, began protesting even before the results were released, which results to clash that claims hundred of lives between the Muslims and Christians, who largely supported Buba.

Similar riots in 2001 between Christians and Muslims in Jos also resulted in death of hundreds. A 2004 riot in Yelwa, another town in Plateau State resulted in the so-called Yelwa Massacre. Fighting in the north-central Kaduna State when it tried to impose shari'a law in 2000, resulted in the partition of Kaduna. This was followed by the Kaduna riots of November 2002, resulting from Nigeria's hosting of the Miss World contest, which one of its contestants had won the previous year.

Riots

The two days of rioting led to the death of at least 761 people, The Nigerian Red Cross Society reported that 10,000 people fled their homes due to the riots, and were living in government-provided shelters. Nigerian soldiers were sent into Jos to break up the fighting and create a buffer zone between the Christians and Muslims. Flights to and from Jos were cancelled and roads to the north were blocked.

Effects

Jonah Jang, the governor of the Plateau State, imposed a 24-hour curfew on four districts of the city, and soldiers were permitted to "shoot on sight" to prevent more violence. Human Rights Watch alleged that soldiers and police carried out more than 130 extrajudicial killings while responding to the riots. Many armed youths of both sides were arrested at military roadblocks. Police reported that more than 500 people were arrested as a result of the riots. But state officials said no one was successfully prosecuted.

References

References

1. (6 December 2008). "7,070 displaced persons in 10 camps in Jos, Nigeria".
2. (29 November 2008). "Riots 'kill hundreds in Nigeria'". BBC News.
3. (12 December 2013). ""Leave Everything to God": Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria".
4. "Nigerian army takes over riot city".
5. (29 November 2008). "Nigeria: Dozens Killed in Jos LG Election Riot". Allafrica.com.
6. (29 November 2008). "At Least 200 Die in Nigeria Clashes". [[The New York Times]].
7. (17 October 2001). "Nigerian president tours riot city". BBC.
8. (23 November 2002). "Nigeria calls off Miss World show". BBC.
9. (20 July 2009). "Arbitrary Killings by Security Forces: Submission to the Investigative Bodies on the November 28-29, 2008 Violence in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria". Human Rights Watch.
10. (29 November 2008). "300 bodies taken to mosque on 2nd day of Nigeria riots". CNN.
11. (30 November 2008). "Nigerian army takes over city hit by Muslim-Christian clashes". The Telegraph.
12. (29 November 2008). "At least 200 killed in clashes in Nigeria". Reuters.
13. (30 November 2008). "Nigerian city counts its dead after days of Christian-Muslim riots". The Guardian.