Mob Violence Erupts in Nigeria's Plateau State After Deadly Jos Attack

Communal tensions and cycles of retaliation continue to drive instability in Nigeria’s Plateau State following a deadly attack that killed around 30 people.

Mobs formed across Jos on Wednesday, with an AFP reporter witnessing cars smashed, a tricycle set ablaze, and crowds fleeing. At least 2 bodies were seen in the street, though the identities of those involved remain unclear.

The unrest followed a weekend attack in Anguwan Rukuba, a neighborhood popular with university students, where about 30 people were killed.

Amnesty International Nigeria warned that insecurity is deepening. “People are increasingly feeling unsafe and constantly on the edge,” it said, referencing a mass burial held for victims of the Palm Sunday killings.

The group urged authorities to ensure protection and conduct “thorough, independent and impartial investigations,” adding that failures to prosecute perpetrators are “emboldening impunity.”

Security forces moved through Jos on Wednesday, firing into the air to disperse crowds. A curfew imposed on Monday and Tuesday had briefly reduced the risk of reprisals.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu postponed a planned trip to Ogun State to focus on the crisis, expressing “deep sorrow” and reaffirming commitments to bring perpetrators to justice and strengthen security responses.

Nigeria’s Senate has ordered an immediate investigation into the Jos North attack and dispatched a delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio to affected communities.

Lawmakers are pressing for urgent reforms as violence resurges in Plateau State, where Amnesty data shows at least 1,336 people were killed between December 2023 and February 2024, including 533 women, 263 children and 540 men, with 29,554 displaced.

Jos has a history of sectarian violence tied to disputes over land, identity, and political representation. While many communities coexist peacefully, tensions between farmers and herders and disputes over who is considered “indigenous” continue to fuel periodic unrest.