This archive report was first published on 26 August 2021.
At least 44 people have been killed in Plateau and Benue states in north central Nigeria, bringing the total number of people killed in ethnoreligious crisis to 77 in a week.
Despite the re-imposition of curfew following the August 14 killing of 33 Muslim travellers in Jos, Plateau state, 36 people, mostly Christians, have been killed in Jos north in a reprisal attack early on Wednesday.
Eight people have also been killed in Benue State in a renewed clash between herders and farmers.
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has described the attack as a 'barbaric act' and directed security agencies to track down the assailants and their sponsors.
Angry youths on August 25 took to the streets of Jos to protest against the killings.
Mr Gabriel Ubah, the Plateau State Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the attack and counterattacks.
Franc Utoo, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Projects Monitoring in Benue, said a housewife and her four children were killed in the attack.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Jos North condemned the killing of innocent citizens and called on religious leaders to desist from making inciting statements.
