Muslim Community Reports L0ss of 4,700 Members in Plateau Crisis

Muslim Community Reports Loss of 4,700 Members in Plateau Crisis

Muslim leaders in Jos, Plateau State, on Friday held the 17th annual prayer in memory of more than 4,700 community members lost to various crises across the state. The commemoration, observed every November 28 at the Jos Central Mosque, began with Qur’an recitations for victims of the 2008 post-election vi%lence, which claimed hundreds of lives.

The community reflected on two decades of unrest, noting that crises dating back to 2001 have devastated several LGAs. Yawale Muhammad, National President of the Jasawa Community Development Association, said their records show thousands of Muslims were k+lled in repeated clashes in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and other years.

He recalled that more than 700 Muslims were k+lled in the 2001 crisis, hundreds more in the 2002 Eto Baba att+ck, and at least 700 in the 2004 Yelwa-Shendam vi%lence. The 2008 post-election unrest added over 1,000 d+aths, while the 2010 att+cks in areas such as Dutse Uku, Gero and Kuru Jenta claimed more than 2,000 lives. Additional tragedies occurred in 2011 at the Rukuba Road Eid ground and in 2021 during the att+ck on Muslim travellers. In total, the association records more than 4,700 d+aths, with victims buried in several mass cemeteries across the state.

Community leader Shehu Masalla described November 28 as a solemn day marked by grief for lost lives and destroyed property. Prayer leader Malam Hamisu Umaru emphasized the need for continued prayers for peace, stressing that development is impossible without harmony among the state’s diverse groups.