Interfaith Peace Committees and the Management of Religious Tensions in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Jos Metropolis, once celebrated as Nigeria’s “Home of Peace and Tourism”, has become a focal point of recurrent ethno-religious violence since the early 2000s, with grave human and developmental consequences. This article examines how interfaith peace committees and related interfaith structures contribute to the management of religious tensions in Jos Metropolis, within the wider Plateau State peace architecture. Drawing on a qualitative desktop research design, the study systematically analyses academic literature, policy and evaluation reports, organisational documents and selected media sources. The analysis is guided by intergroup contact theory, conflict transformation theory and the concept of infrastructures for peace. Findings indicate that interfaith peace mechanisms anchored by the Plateau State Peace Building Agency, the Plateau State Inter-Religious Council, and supported by civil-society platforms such as the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace Centre, the Interfaith Mediation Centre and Search for Common Ground programmes have created important spaces for dialogue, joint problem-solving, forgiveness initiatives and public messaging. These efforts have improved communication between Christian and Muslim leaders, supported attitude change, and, in some cases, reduced the escalation of local incidents into wider communal violence. However, persistent structural drivers of conflict, including indigene–settler disputes, land and political exclusion, socio-economic marginalisation and impunity for past violence, remain only partially addressed. The article concludes that interfaith peace committees are a necessary but insufficient component of sustainable religious peace in Jos, and argues for a stronger linkage between interfaith dialogue, inclusive representation and substantive reforms in governance, justice and development policy.