C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001461

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2011
TAGS: PGOV PINR PINS NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ETHNIC CLASHES IN NASARAWA STATE CONTINUE
SPORADICALLY


REF: ABUJA 1448


Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter, reason 1.5 (B/D).



1. (U) Summary. Ethnic clashes in the Middle-Belt State of
Nasarawa continue sporadically. Frightened citizens have
fled the areas of conflict in the southeastern corner of the
state, but the numbers are uncertain, and press reports may
be inflated. Isolated fighting in the village of
Tudun-Adegbo cost approximately 25 lives the evening of June

25. International Red Cross officials have sent a mission to
assess the situation and expect to have better information
within a day or two. End summary.



2. (C) Local press reports continue of clashes between rival
ethnic groups in the southeast corner of Nasarawa State, a
Middle-Belt State located immediately to the east of the
Federal Capital Territory. Poloff spoke with Nasarawa
Governor Abdullahi Adamu June 25 by telephone and received an
update on the conflict. Adamu said that the uneasy peace
established over the previous week-end had been broken by
fighting the night of June 25 in the village of Tudun-Adegbo.
Approximately 45 persons were admitted to local hospitals
with injuries, and there were six confirmed deaths. He
estimated the total loss of life from the fighting at 25.
Governor Adamu said that he had requested reinforcements from
the national police and expected their arrival shortly. Also
reached by telephone June 26, the Deputy Commissioner of
Police for Federal Operations confirmed the dispatch of three
additional mobile police units to Nasarawa (approximately 60
men).





3. (C) Governor Adamu dismissed accounts of fighting in the
State capital of Lafia, saying that the arrival of injured
persons and "a few bodies" had caused "some disturbances,"
but that police on the scene had prevented any serious
altercation. The conflict was confined entirely to two Local
Government Areas (LGAs) of the southeast, he said. (Note:
Nasarawa has 13 LGAs in total. End Note). Governor Adamu
said he did not know the numbers of people who had fled their
homes in the troubled areas, but that certainly there had
been "many people leaving," particularly ethnic Tivs heading
south to Benue State (where Tivs are a majority). He also
said he had met with the Benue State Governor, George Akume
to discuss the situation and work on "ways to lessen the
tension."



4. (C) Poloff also spoke by telephone June 26 with the
Director of the International Red Cross in Nigeria,
Jean-Jacque Gacond, who said he had dispatched a Red Cross
team to Makurdi, capital of Benue State, to assess the
situation. Gacond said he thought that perhaps "some
thousands" had fled their homes, but he had no hard figures.
He discounted one press report of 35,000 displaced persons
fleeing into makeshift camps in Benue State, saying the
report was probably inflated. Gacond said he expected to
have better information by June 27 or 28.



5. (C) Comment. Renewed fighting, even in isolated areas,
obviously makes efforts by local officials at reconciliation
(reftel) that much harder. We hope to have better
information soon on the numbers of displaced persons and
their present location. End comment.
Jeter