Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has inaugurated a special panel to study the causes of ethnic and religious violence that has plagued his nation in recent years.
ABUJA: The panel includes clerics, academics, security officers and others. It has been charged with studying the causes of the conflicts and to formulate possible solutions.
As he installed the panel Wednesday in Abuja, President Obasanjo said that in exercising the freedoms guaranteed by democracy, some Nigerians have overstepped lawful limits and have infringed on the basic rights of others.
Since Mr. Obasanjo was elected in 1999, thousands of Nigerians have died in ethnic and religious violence. Last week, at least 150 civilians were killed by soldiers sent to halt ethnic violence in Central Nigeria. Many people in the area say the soldiers were acting to avenge the killing of 19 of their fellow soldiers who had fallen victim to a local militia.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.