Resource January 2, 2019

Meet the Journalists: Jane Hahn and Max Bearak

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English

Can a multi-ethnic vigilante group provide much needed trust and security to the conflict-ridden...

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Vigilante Sarah Dung, 39, guards a checkpoint. Image by Jane Hahn. Nigeria, 2018.
Vigilante Sarah Dung, 39, guards a checkpoint. Image by Jane Hahn. Nigeria, 2018.

A decades-long battle over territory between herders and farmers in Central Nigeria has escalated exponentially with more than 1,000 deaths since January 2018. Growing animosity between ethnic groups coupled with a lack of security has fomented this increase in violence in recent years.

Despite the divisive chaos engulfing the Middle Belt, a small group of multi-ethnic men, including those from the clashing Fulani and Berom (largely Christian) tribes, have joined together to form the "Vigilante Group of Nigeria." Together they are intermediaries for all victims—no matter their creed—as trust between different ethnic groups and security forces is nonexistent. 

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