By Nick Tattersall LAGOS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Nigeria's states must end discrimination against settlers from other parts of the country to prevent the sort of bloodshed that killed hundreds of people in the city of Jos at the weekend, a rights group said on Tuesday. The authorities in many of Nigeria's 36 states routinely deny opportunities such as civil service jobs or academic scholarships to "non-indigenes" -- those who cannot trace their roots back to the community that originally settled there. Nigerian identity cards show an individual's place of residence on the front and of origin on the back. Little is done to discourage informal discrimination such as the right to own a market stall in certain areas of towns. The distinction between "indigenes" and "non-indigenes" is rooted in a desire to preserve the cultural identity of more than 200 distinct ethnic groups in Africa's most populous nation, a generally peaceful country of 140 million people. But Human Rights Watch said policies enacted by state governments were marginalising settler communities, going against the constitution's guarantee of freedom from discrimination, and contributing to ethnic resentment. "These discriminatory policies relegate millions of Nigerians to the status of second-class citizens and fuel the flames of ethnic and religious violence," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of the rights group. The violence in Jos, at the crossroads of the Muslim north and Christian south, was the worst of its kind for years. The clashes between rival gangs who burned homes, shops, mosques and churches was triggered by a local election but was rooted in decades-old rivalry between mostly Christian or animist indigenes and Hausa-speaking settlers from the north. "We are not aliens, we are not foreigners. We deserve each and every right," said Sheikh Khalid Aliyu, spokesman for the council of imams in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital. EXCESSIVE FORCE Human Rights Watch said Nigeria's security forces appeared to have used excessive force to end the violence, during which mosque officials counted close to 400 bodies brought for burial. Plateau state governor Jonah Jang imposed a 24-hour curfew on the worst-hit areas of the city and ordered the security forces to shoot on sight to stop the fighting. The army sent in troops from neighbouring states. Human Rights Watch said the actions appeared to contravene basic U.N. principles on the use of force. "State security forces are required to apply non-violent means as far as possible before resorting to the use of force. Any order authorising indiscriminate use of violence by security forces, such as 'shoot-on-sight' orders, would violate these principles," it said. The group said it had credible reports from multiple witnesses including civil society leaders and local residents of killings by the security forces. Some of the wounded told Reuters men in uniform had opened fire, but could not identify them as police or soldiers. Human Rights Watch urged the government to investigate and prosecute those who sponsored and carried out the violence.(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Editing by Randy Fabi)
Nigerians displaced by religious clashes seek refuge at a displacement centre in the central city of Jos, November 30, 2008. Residents delivered more bodies to the main mosque in the city ...
