Open violence erupted between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups. The immediate trigger was a dispute following local government elections conducted by the Babangida military regime. The Tiv community agreed not to contest for the position of local government chairman but demanded to produce the vice chairman. When the Jukun refused this demand, violence broke out and quickly escalated.
1990s · Wukari, Wukari, Taraba
Kidnapped
0
Perpetrators
Communal/Ethnic Militias
Response
The Federal Government delayed for months before sending in the army to restore order.
Displacement
Approximately 80,000 people were displaced during the 1990-1992 conflict.
Socioeconomic drivers
Long-standing indigene-settler tensions between Jukun (considered indigenes) and Tiv (viewed as settlers) over land, political representation, and economic resources in Wukari area.
Trajectory
This 1990 outbreak marked the beginning of the modern phase of recurrent Tiv-Jukun ethno-communal violence in southern Taraba, which continued through 1991–1992 and resurfaced in later decades.
Cycle notes
This incident marks the beginning of a recurring cycle of violence that mirrors later events including 1991–1992 – continued Tiv–Jukun clashes with mass displacement, 2001 – renewed Wukari violence linked to political and land disputes, 2019 – resurgence of Tiv–Jukun conflict causing widespread killings and displacement, and broader indigene–settler conflicts across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, collectively reflecting a persistent pattern in which Tiv and Jukun communities engage in cyclical ethno-communal violence driven by disputes over land ownership, political representation, and indigene status—often triggered by local governance contests and exacerbated by delayed state intervention.
Pattern
Indigene-Settler Conflict
Related — Communal Violence
Tiv militias killed and beheaded a Fulani man along Rafinkada road.
Armed Fulani militants carried out simultaneous evening raids on Kai Village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State. The attackers, described as Muslim Fulani youth, targeted a single family, killing five members. The victims were identified as Martha, Philip, Bitrus, Kasiah, and Amazie, all members of the Iliya (also referred to as Bitrus) family. According to a police bulletin, nothing was stolen or destroyed, and the attackers fled before security personnel could arrive.
A Muslim demonstration in Kano against a planned Christian revival meeting by German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke turned violent, sparking large-scale riots that lasted for days. Muslims attacked the Sabon Gari neighbourhood, a commercial district and enclave for southern Christian immigrants, primarily Igbo. Christians eventually fought back with automatic weapons, catching the Muslim attackers off guard. The violence resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries, along with widespread destruction of property.