Slow "genocide" against Nigerian Christians
In a webinar recently hosted by ACN, representatives of the Catholic Church in Nigeria have expressed no confidence in the will of the Nigerian Government and Armed Forces to protect Nigerian Christians from attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen. Representatives have said that Nigerian Christians are being subjected to a “slow genocide”.
By ACN Staff
Shelters for displaced people in Benue State. (Credit: Catholic Diocese of Markurdi)
At a webinar hosted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), representatives of the Catholic Church in Nigeria said that Christians in that country are being subjected to a slow ethnic cleansing. Fulani Muslim herdsmen carryout frequent attacks against Nigerian Christians, particularly in the Nigerian states of Benue and Taraba. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi stated that he does not believe that this is just an issue related to grazing land for cattle, as is sometimes reported. He believes that it is a “religious war”.
School for displaced children, Benue State. (Credit: Catholic Diocese of Markurdi)
The bishop believes that the Fulani attacks are motivated by a desire to Islamise the country. He also asks if the issue is about grazing land then why do the Fulani kill people and burn down their homes? The attacks by the Fulani are clearly not just a simple dispute over grazing land. The bishop has little faith that the Nigerian Armed Forces will help protect Christians. All senior commanders in all the branches of the Nigerian Armed Forces are Muslims appointed President Buhari. The armed forces ultimately answer to the president, and he does not seem interested in providing protection to the Christians against the Fulani attacks.
Johan Viljoen, the director of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute of South Africa, also believes that there is more than meets the eye to the attacks by the Fulani herders. He said that there is a well-planned occupation being carried out by the Fulani in parts of the southeast of Nigeria. He also claimed that Miyetti Allah, an organisation which claims to defend the rights of the Fulani, is providing cover for these attacks and occupation. President Buhari of Nigeria is a patron of Miyetti Allah.
Johan Viljoen also has little faith that the Nigerian Armed Forces will try to stop the attacks. The Nigerian Army could stop the attacks if the will was there. When on the ground on a factfinding mission, Johan Viljoen reported that he was indeed stopped frequently by soldiers of the Nigerian Army. The problem was that all of the soldiers deployed on the ground were Fulani and acted very threatening to the peace activist. Johan Viljoen reported that despite years of intense violence, not a single Fulani has been prosecuted for the violence directed against Christians.
A mass funeral in Benue State following a Fulani attack. (Credit: Catholic Diocese of Markurdi)
Official figures state that around 3,000 people have lost their lives as a result of current wave of attacks in recent years. Those who are on the ground say that this figure could actually be as high as 36,000 dead and many more injured, displaced and traumatized. Many of the local people have to rely on the support of the Church to get by, with ACN supporting many of the Church’s activities in the region.
Fr. Remigius Ihyula from the Diocese of Makurdi told us that we in the West need to seize the narrative of what is going on away from the Nigerian Government. The Nigerian priest said that the government has planted “protégés” in Nigerian embassies around the world. These “protégés” stick to the government’s line that there is no issue of attacks against Christians by the Fulani.
Fr. Joseph Fidelis of the Diocese of Maiduguri is frustrated that what is happening is often reported as “clashes” or “conflicts” between the Fulani and the Christians. The Nigerian priest expressed his frustration:
“It is not a clash, it is a slow genocide. To displace people from their ancestral homeland, deprive them of their livelihood and butcher them is a form of genocide.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country. Most experts believe that the population is split pretty evenly between Christians and Muslims, with Muslims dominating the north and Christians the south. ACN works extensively with Church in Nigeria to provided the support that is needed to respond to the current crisis.