SUMMARY
The non-state conflicts in Plateau State, most notably in Jos town (as well as neighboring Taraba state and adjacent Adamawa state) are connected to a larger pattern of tensions between ethnic and religious communities. The states are home to over 30 distinct ethnic communities, which have coexisted in relative peace for a long time. Around the turn of the century, however, conflicts started to arise over land ownership and access to political and economic power. At the root of these conflicts is the notion of "indigeneity", which often serves as the basis for citizenship, land ownership and political power. This has led to recurring conflicts between groups perceived as indigenous to the area and groups that have migrated to the region more recently. These tensions have been further exacerbated by religious differences and perceived marginalization.
The other dyads that belong to the same Plateau state cluster of non-state conflicts are; Afisare, Anaguta, Birom - Fulani, Hausa, Hausa – Tarok, Fulani – Mambila, Azara – Tiv, Junkun – Tiv, Gamai – Pan, Kwala – Tiv and Birom – Fulani, Hausa.
The conflict between the Fulani and Karimjo is believed to have started when a Fulaniman was accused of attempting to rape a Karimjo woman.
The conflict that followed lasted one week and was chaotic; reports of nearly 400 homes destroyed and around 40 people killed were filed in late April describing the scenes that had unveiled earlier that month.
The violence did not succumb until soldiers and police intervened; the result was the arrest of approximately 20 people.
The reporting from the conflict was scarce, there is little more written than the above stated, it is, therefore, difficult to elaborate further upon these actors in this specific conflict.
The Fulani - Karimjo conflict must however be viewed in the broader spectrum of the ethnic and religious non-state conflicts that have ravaged Nigeria in the past. The conflicts throughout Nigeria have ethnic, political, economic, and religious components, which have become inextricably linked over time, pitting various groups and alliances of groups against each other along different dividing lines.
The non-state conflict between Fulani and Karimjo is first included in UCDP data in 1996. In April that year, clashes in Taraba state resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.
