Nigeria Mourns as the Death Toll of the Plateau Killings Reaches 200

Today, the city of Jos in Plateau State mourns the loss of over 200 Nigerians, and protests in the name of peace and justice.

As reported by CNN, on Saturday, tensions between the predominant Christian farmer community and the nomadic Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, reached new heights, resulting in fatal attacks upon Christian communities including families, businesses and homes.

Following the attacks, the governor of Plateau instilled a curfew within the city. Many youth came out to protest today in several major regions of the Plateau State. In a passionate march to the Government House, protestors blocked both the Mangu-Mamaraban Foron-Busa-Buji and Mangu-Barkin-Ladi roads, disrupting daily commuter traffic. As reported by the Daily Post, the peaceful protest may currently be escalating following several reports of violence and gunshots on the Government House premises.

Some of what has been fueling the protests is the belief that the government has not been doing enough to put an end to the violence by providing security. As reported by Premium Times, after sharing his condolences, President Buhari stated, "Nobody can say that we haven't done well in terms of security, we have done our best, but the way this situation is now, we can only pray... Leaders at all level must have control over there people in their respective constituencies."

On the contrary to most victims and witnesses accounts, Governor Lalong continues to hint that the attackers are foreign in several statements, "We are concerned as a state that sophisticated weapons used in these attacks, from the evidences on ground and the narrations of victims, are not those conventional to our environment for self defense but reflective of a terrorist invasion."

As of now, the government of Nigeria states they are working to instill peace.