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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

NIGERIA: Obasanjo says sorry for Benue killings

LAGOS, 2 January 2003 (IRIN) - President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday apologised for a military action he ordered against some communities in Benue State, central Nigeria, in which more than 200 civilians were killed.

Obasanjo was in the Benue capital, Makurdi, to attend a reconciliation forum organised by the Benue branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria. He was accompanied to the event by the state governor, George Akume.

The president had sent soldiers after local militiamen who killed 19 soldiers sent to quell violent clashes between Tivs and their Jukun neighbours on the border between Benue and Taraba states. The soldiers carried out reprisal attacks against several Tiv villages located in the area where the soldiers were killed, killing at least 200 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Obasanjo said at the time that the soldiers had acted in self-defence and he had refused to condemn the killings.

"There is no doubt that we...need to seek forgiveness from ourselves," he said at the reconciliation forum. "For me, I should say to you sorry, it should never have happened."

The apologies came four days before Obasanjo was scheduled to compete for the presidential ticket of the ruling People's Democratic Party in the capital, Abuja. If Obasanjo beats four other contenders for nomination, he will have a chance to run for a second and final term in presidential elections due on 19 April.

Thousands of people have been killed in Nigeria in ethnic and religious conflicts since Obasanjo's election in 1999 ended 15 years of military rule. His opponents accuse Obasanjo of mismanaging Nigeria's conflicts. He has blamed them on the rot caused by decades of military rule, saying he needs more time to resolve them.

Themes: (IRIN) Governance

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