The 2008 Jos riots were

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

s involving

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

over the result of a

local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

on 28 and 29 November 2008 in Jos, a city in the

Middle Belt The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt or Central Nigeria) is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It ...

region of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Two days of rioting left hundreds injured and at least 761 dead. The

Nigerian army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

was deployed and by 30 November order was restored.

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 People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP),

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

Timothy Gyang Buba, defeating the candidate for the

All Nigerian Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party ( abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

. People from the largely Muslim

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

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 killed 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 Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

when it tried to impose

shari'a Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law in 2000, resulted in the partition of

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

. This was followed by the Kaduna riots of November 2002, resulting from Nigeria's hosting of the

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

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, and homes, mosques, churches and schools were damaged or burned by mobs. The

Nigerian Red Cross Society The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) was founded in 1960, and it has its headquarters in Abuja. It has over 500,000 volunteers and 300 permanent employees. The Nigerian Red Cross Society was established by an Act of Parliament In mo ...

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 A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types of buffer zones are demil ...

between the Christians and Muslims. Flights to and from Jos were cancelled and roads to the north were blocked.

Effects

Jonah Jang Air Commodore Jonah David Jang ( Retired, Rtd) CON (born 13 March 1944) is a Nigerian statesman who was the Governor of Plateau State from 2007 to 2015. He had previously served as Military Governor of Benue State and Gongola State He ran s ...

, the governor of the

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

, imposed a 24-hour

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

on four districts of the city, and soldiers were permitted to "shoot on sight" to prevent more violence.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

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

External links

* Blench, R. M., Daniel, P. & Hassan, Umaru (2003): ''Access rights and conflict over common pool resources in three states in Nigeria.'' Report to Conflict Resolution Unit, World Bank
extracted section on Jos Plateau
* Human Rights Watch (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 (2013)
''"Leave Everything to God": Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria''
* Nkwocha, Stanley (1 December 2008)

Leadership (Abuja) * Ostien, Philip (2009)
''Jonah Jang and the Jasawa: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Nigeria
in ''Muslim-Christian Relations in Africa'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jos riots 2008 murders in Nigeria 2008 in Nigeria 2008 riots Political riots Religious riots in Nigeria 2000s massacres in Nigeria Riots and civil disorder in Nigeria Jos Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Nigeria November 2008 events in Africa 2008 murders in Africa