Conflict in the time of Covid-19

How have Covid-19 and lockdown measures affected the social relationships of farmers and pastoralists in the conflict-affected Nigerian states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Kogi and Plateau? What, if any, changes in social cohesion and conflict have these farmers and pastoralists had to deal with against the backdrop of pandemic control measures and the other shocks they routinely face? These were among the questions that SPARC asked farmers and herders in Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Kogi and Plateau to gain some insight into their experiences of social cohesion and conflict since April 2020.

This brief highlights how the activities of armed and vigilante groups changed during the pandemic; farmer and pastoralist perceptions of government pandemic response measures and aid, and how pandemic measures impacted social relationships within agro-pastoral and pastoral communities.

Our findings highlight that: Farmers and pastoralists largely reported that Covid-19 did not create new social, inter-ethnic or inter-group tensions. Where conflict was taking place, it had existed before the pandemic and was not perceived to have increased or decreased specifically due to pandemic measures; Farmers and herders stated that longstanding feelings of land tenure disadvantage and ethnic tension, and/or conflict mediation efforts, were more important in shaping conflict than the shock (e.g. Covid-19) itself. These interim findings provide valuable insight for policymakers, donors and aid actors seeking to reduce conflict risk, including how: Governmental organisations, government and donors can more successfully reduce conflict risk regardless of shock by understanding background conflict contexts and supporting livelihoods, land tenure clarification and conflict mediation; Aid actors need steady approaches to conflict mediation that work to address longstanding concerns and bolster local mediation efforts, not reactive approaches.