SUMMARY
The issue of political control of certain towns, districts, or states is volatile in the Nigerian society. The political system in Nigeria is young and is still not fully developed in terms of judiciary capacities. This has had a profound impact on issues of land ownership and subsequent taxations matters. The pattern is in some aspects related to the question of which group was the original inhabitants of the area, this has however been hard to verify, and in some cases the period under British rule drastically altered the power-relationships between different ethnicities. It is hence an infected matter without any clear solution. This situation has led to several recorded conflicts regarding taxation and access to local markets.
The other dyads that belong to the same Political/Land taxation cluster of non-state conflicts are; Hausa – Yoruba, Efik – Ibibio, Ife – Modakeke, Ijaw – Urhobo, Okrika – Ogoni and Izzi – Ukele.
The conflict between the Bini and Urhobo ethnic groups were centered on the issue of land taxation. Both ethnicities live in adjacent villages, and there are plenty of trade and farming taking place in the contested areas of influence. The specific issue that led to the violent conflict in 1998 that enabled the inclusion of this dyad in UCDP data was when inhabitants of the village Jesse refused to pay taxes to the residents of the village Ijueloba. The Jesse villagers were ethnic Urhobo while the Ijueloba villagers were Bini. This controversy degenerated into a clash that left approximately 50 people dead.
Following the clash there has not been any continuation of violence, yet the context in which these groups interact is volatile, the ethnic divides are tangible and the issue of land rights is by no means solved. The short-lived episode of violence was not halted by addressing the underlying issues, but rather by enforcing law and order to a greater extent.
The violence in this conflict lasted one day, in August 1998; it is, therefore, difficult to elaborate on specific tactics used by the parties to the conflict. The scant information that is available covering this episode of violence does not include any detailed descriptions of the tactics with regards to the violence.
The Bini - Urhobo conflict must also 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 violence in this dyad took place in the contested area. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the clash, it is however certain to have taken place within the vicinity of Jesse and Ijueloba villages.
The non-state conflict between Bini and Urhobo ethnic groups is first included in UCDP data in 1998. In August of that year clashes between the two groups resulted in at least 50 battle-related deaths.
