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Nahawa had said he recognized some of the voices of the attackers but he was afraid and “later
changed his story.” He added that, “There is no one else who recognized any voices.” 183
The police commissioner, however, released a statement on March 10, 2010, stating that those who
carried out the attack “had been clearly identified as Fulanis.” The police said some Fulani had been
arrested and “owned-up to carrying out the invasion and killings” as a “revenge mission” for the
violence in January 2010. 184 One of the Fulani men who made a police statement was from a nearby
village in Barkin Ladi local government area. He told the police that he agreed to participate in the
attack because his parents had been killed in January 2010, and the people of Dogo Nahawa had
“fought them” and “carted away” his family’s cattle. 185 He and another Fulani man also provided the
police with the names of individuals who allegedly paid them to carry out the attack. 186
Other Attacks on Berom
The attacks on Dogo Nahawa and surrounding villages were just the beginning. Since then there
have been dozens of attacks on predominately Christian villages, mostly Berom, in Jos South,
Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas. Many of these attacks have been night raids,
allegedly carried out by Fulani, who enter a village and shoot or hack to death the residents, set
houses on fire, and then disappear into the night. Human Rights Watch estimates that between
April 2010 and November 2013, more than 500 Christians, the vast majority Berom, have been
killed attacks on small towns and villages in northern Plateau State. 187
Human Rights Watch interviewed 14 Christian residents from towns and villages south of Jos that
were attacked in 2011. Human Rights Watch also visited the scenes of five of the attacks. In all of
these cases, the attack took place at night. Witnesses said the attackers spoke Fulbe, and in
some incidents they saw men in military fatigues, in some cases speaking English,
accompanying the attackers.
On January 10, 2011, about 11:30 p.m., armed men attacked Wareng village, in Riyom local
government area, and killed 15 residents, including four women and seven children. A Berom
183 Human Rights Watch interview with Daniel Jik, Dogo Nahawa village head, February 4, 2012.
184 Nigeria Police Force, “Press Release,” signed by Ikechukwu Aduba, Plateau State commissioner of police, March 10, 2010, p. 2.
185 See Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Dauda Abubakar & Anor, Federal High Court of Nigeria, Jos Judicial Division, Judgment,
FHC/J/14C/2010, February 14, 2011, p. 7. Copy on file with Human Rights Watch.
186 Ibid., p. 10.
187 The estimated death toll is based on Human Rights Watch monitoring of Nigerian and foreign media reports of violence and
interviews with witnesses from some of the affected communities.
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