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November 1, 2005
Nigeria: Muslim/Christian Violence in Niger State
Niger State in central West Nigeria was formerly Niger Province, until 1976 when it was split into Sokoto and Niger States. The population here is divided almost equally between Muslims and Christians, and on 13 January 2000, Governor Abdullah Kure of Niger State invoked Sharia law before the state House of Assembly could vote on it. On March 1, 2000, after religious violence between Chrisians and Muslims in Zamfara, President Obasanjo called for a meeting calling for conciliation between Christians and Muslims in the regions where Sharia had been adopted. Governor Kure returned from this meeting and told his constituents that Sharia had been "suspended". Shortly after, Sharia carried on in Niger State.
A report today from Compass Direct states that last week, on October 26 a Christian had his hand sliced off by a Muslim in Tungan Rogo village. A Muslim Fulani cattle-herder had taken his cattle onto the farm of a Christian of the Gwari tribe. Crops were damaged. When questioned by the Christian, the cattle-herder sliced off his hand with a machete.
News of this event spread through the village, causing bloodshed, in which three Christians, including a local policeman, died, thirteen were injured, and 18 houses were destroyed.
The situation between Muslims and Christians in the state had been tense following an incident a few weeks earlier in the University of Technology at Minna. A group of Muslims had broken into a lecture hall, demanding Sharia law in the university be imposed upon Christians, while attacking Christian students. Several were injured, including a Christian female student who was apparently stabbed for not wearing a veil. Eight Muslims who participated in the assaults were subsequently suspended.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 1, 2005 7:18 PM
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