More than 200 Christians killed and thousands displaced from Christian dominated areas (slegs in Engels)
Gruesome reports are emerging from Benue state in Northern Nigeria, where mostly Christian communities in the Guma local government area (LGA) faced at least six suspected Fulani militant attacks between 8 June and 14 June. The attacks, in which women and children were not spared, left more than 218 people dead.
Jo Newhouse, spokesperson for OD work in sub-Saharan Africa, commented: “Open Doors condemns in the strongest terms possible the attacks in Benue state. For this pattern of attack on mostly Christian villages to continue without restraint is totally unacceptable. Christians in the Middle Belt of Nigeria need to know their government is willing to do what is needed to secure the safety of all her citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.”
According to the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace, the most serious attack of 13 June in Yelewata was preceded by several smaller yet brutal strikes.
It began on 8 June in the Udei village of the Nyiev ward. The attackers shot dead two farmers and injured Dabu Iorkohol Peter as they were working in their fields.
On 11 June, attackers killed two women working in the field with machetes near Tse Ivokor village in the Unongu community of Guma LGA.
On 12 June, Amos Uorayev, an IDP and Protection Volunteer with the Foundation for Justice Development and Peace, Makurdi, set out with four other youths to recover bodies but were ambushed and killed at around 4:00 pm.
On 13 June, another search party comprising a resident and three soldiers happened upon some attackers and were killed. But that was only the start of the blood bath of that day. The attackers next struck the Akondutyough community in Makurdi LGA, indiscriminately shooting at residents and killing people they could get close enough to with machetes. Five people were killed and eight injured.
At about 10 pm, attackers struck the Yelewata mission site where 400 internally displaced people were sheltering. When they met resistance from the military, the attackers retreated to the Yelewate Main market area, where more IDPs were taking refuge in food storage facilities. They set fire to the buildings and mowed fleeing people down with guns and machetes. Witnesses reported that the attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they attacked. Two hundred were killed. Five were injured.
The attack left at least 218 people dead and more than 6 000 displaced.
Last Sunday, thousands of people gathered in the streets of Makurdi to protest the killings. Police fired teargas to disperse the protestors.
Yesterday, 17 June, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State told Arise news the state is now firmly under siege by “terrorists”.
“Of late, what we experience and what we see is more appalling. It is much stronger, way beyond the farmer-herder crisis. We’re being attacked by bandits and terrorists.” He added, “The level of what we have experienced in the last two months, it’s so much alarming. When we took over our administration in May 2023, 17 local governments in the entire state were on the front lines of attacks. And all the attacks were led by the herders, the armed herders. We fought quite hard to bring the numbers of the local government in the front lines down from 17 to 9 local governments … Unfortunately for us, the last two months have been very disastrous.”
The State House of Assembly, in a resolution on Tuesday, stated that Governor Alia, his deputy, and the 32 lawmakers had let the people down.
The United Nations condemned the recent attacks and called for a comprehensive investigation into the incidents.
“Open Doors joins the UN in calling for immediate action and a comprehensive investigation. We also call upon the government of Nigeria to take immediate action to provide protection by taking robust action to stop violent militant attacks. We call for justice, which includes the fair prosecution of those responsible. And lastly, we call for restoration by providing restitution, rehabilitation and compensation for survivors and communities,” Newhouse concluded.
“The international community should do all in its power to encourage urgency and transparency from the Nigerian government in action to ensure they achieve these goals.”
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, visited Makurdi and Yelewata on Monday to lead a coordinated security operation aimed at tracking down the perpetrators.
The President is scheduled to meet with key stakeholders in Benue State today. “The President’s visit aims to assess firsthand the recurring crisis that has claimed numerous lives and caused significant destruction,” his spokesperson stated. (As reported in Punch)
What is behind the violence in Benue and other areas of Northern Nigeria?
- The area: The Middle Belt. This region is still part of northern Nigeria. However, unlike the Hausa Muslim-dominated far northern states, the Middle Belt hosts a diverse array of peoples and cultures. It is a melting pot of ethno-religious groups that have long co-existed. It is also the centre of Christian presence in the North. It is also the breadbasket of northern Nigeria.
- The actors: Fulani militants vs Farmers. The Fulani, a nomadic people, are increasingly migrating southward into Middle Belt states. This is not a new migration route, but due to climate change, resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and competition is intensifying. While civilians are not allowed to carry weapons in Nigeria, the Fulani are well-armed.
- The events: While the violence is commonly called a conflict over resources, we disagree with this oversimplified and inaccurate narrative. Instead, we call this targeted violence. Witnesses testify that attackers carry crude weapons like machetes but also rifles – often what witnesses call sophisticated weapons. Witnesses have even reported seeing helicopters delivering weapons. Testimony after testimony speaks about people being attacked late at night as they were in bed and defenceless people like women, children and the elderly not spared. This can also be called land-grabbing since testimony after testimony speaks about herders occupying the land of which they had just killed or chased the owners away.