Since 2001, more than 60,000 Nigerians have died in conflicts in the North-central region of Nigeria.
Lecturers from the Faculty of Political Science of Abuja University who gave the report, condemned the destruction of lives and property caused by the crisis of farmers and herders in Benue and Plateau states.
The lecturers also found that the government’s lack of political will to prosecute killers continued to fuel murders.
Two communities in Plateau State recently suffered retaliatory attacks by pastoralists, leaving twenty-one people dead.
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According to a statement obtained by journalists on Friday, the department spoke at a book review titled “The root cause of farmers-herders crisis in North-central Nigeria” organised by the department and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
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One of the lecturers, Dr Olowu Olagunju, said:
“The farmer-herder crisis has been reported in 22 out of the 36 states in Nigeria with the North-Central zone having the highest incidences in the country. The crisis has resulted in lethal violence which accounted for over 60,000 deaths since 2001, a death toll that was higher than that of the Boko-Haram insurgency.
“It was on record that between 2016 and 2018, there were about 3,641 deaths resulting from a series of reprisal attacks between the two groups.”
They also emphasized the need for mediation and action to work with traditional rulers and community leaders to address crises immediately.
Another lecturer in the department, Dr Oluyori Nenadi, confirmed Olagunju’s remarks, asking for commitments from stakeholders.
She said:
“The lack of political will by the government is one of the reasons fueling the crisis. The political will to arrest and punish the offenders adequately is a motivating factor for continued attacks in Nigeria.
“Resolving conflict involves the commitment of all the stakeholders from the federal, state, local government level and civil societies.”
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