Nigerian police have revised the death toll from last weekend’s religious slayings in the centre of the country. They say 109 people died. They insist the figure of 500 given by state officials was fabricated.
 
Plateau state police commissioner Ikechukwa Aduba says it is “authentic” and “undisputed” that 109 Christians were hacked to death by Muslims in three villages near the central city of Jos.

The figure of 500 given by state information commissioner Gregory Yenlong should be disregarded, Aduba says.

The police chief says Yenlong was among officials, police and doctors who witnessed the body count.

The killings follow the January slaughter of Muslims by Christian gangs in a country where the population of more than 150 million is divided between these religions.