The researched and compiled by Chairman of the board, Emeka Umeagbalasi and other members which was dedicated to victims of Islamic jihad in Nigeria”. Entitled, ‘Nigeria: A Killing Field Of Defenseless Christians: 350 Killed In Jan & Feb 2020’’ was made available to this reporter Awka on Wednesday.
It noted Nigeria has fully become a killing field of defenseless Christians.
It added that the available statistics have shown that between 11,500 and 12,000 Christian deaths were recorded in the past 57 months or since June 2015 when the present central Government of Nigeria came on board.
“Out of this figure, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen accounted for 7,400 Christian deaths, Boko Haram 4,000 and the ‘Highway Bandits’ 150-200.
While 100 per cent of the victims of Jihadist Herdsmen attacks across Nigeria are Christians, the estimated 4,000 Christians killed by Boko Haram were part of the estimated 6,000 massacred by the sect since June 2015.
“Generally, many, if not most of the victims of Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks in Nigeria’s Northeast are Christians,” It stated.
On the part of ‘Bandits/Highway Kidnappers’ in Northern Nigeria, most of their rural victims are Muslims while many, if not most of their outlet or roadside victims are Christians traveling to Northern or Southern parts of the country using the Birnin-Gwari Federal Road, near Kaduna, etc.
Also, in the past two months or Jan and Feb 2020, no fewer than 350 Christian deaths have been recorded and between 100 and 150 Christian travelers abducted on highways.
And out of the 350 Christian deaths, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen accounted for no fewer than 250. Boko Haram and ‘Highway Bandits’ are responsible for the remaining 100 deaths.
The Killings targeted at Christians in Nigeria have continued into the first week of March 2020 leading to hacking to death of over a dozen more.
Among the worst hit in the latest round of Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen attacks are Plateau state with 70-80 deaths, Kaduna 50 deaths, Kogi 30 deaths, Benue 15-20, Delta 16 and Taraba 10.
Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have also in the past two months of Jan and Feb 2020 carried out attacks in Nasarawa, Adamawa, Edo and other parts of the country, leading to death of dozens of Christians. The anti Christian attacks by Boko Haram since Jan 2020 have also intensified in Borno, Adamawa and Taraba States; claiming between 50 and 70 Christian lives and loss of churches and other buildings belonging to Christians, while those of “Highway Bandits/Kidnappers” included raiding and looting of Christian villages and ambushing of Christian travelers.
“320 persons were killed in Nigeria in the month of Jan 2020, 223 persons died in Nigeria in the month of Feb 2020”.
The 2019 Global Terrorism Index also stated that “2,040 persons (all Christians) were killed by radicalized Fulani militants in Nigeria in 2018 alone”.
Intersociety, on its part, stated in March 2019 that ‘no fewer than 2400 defenseless Christians were hacked to death by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in 2018 alone and in 2019; the number went down to between 1000 and 1,200 Christian deaths.’ This is just to cite but few.
In all, not less than 10, 475 Christians were hacked to death by non state actor Jihadists in the past 57 months, out of which Fulani Jihadists accounted for about 62% or 7,400 deaths.
At the state actor level, the country’s security forces (Army, Air Force and Police) have been responsible for 1,050 Christian deaths. All the deaths occurred outside the law and were perpetrated in gross violation of the international human rights and humanitarian laws. Till date, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes or atrocities have remained on the prowl.
We Have Monitored Violence Against Christians In Nigeria Since 2010
Expertly speaking, the Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety); formed and registered in Nigeria since 2008, is a leading investigative and research rights advocacy group in the country. Led by criminologists, lawyers, journalists, security, peace and conflict studies’ graduates; Intersociety oppose
Intersociety had monitored and documented killing of Christians in Nigeria since 2010 and spoken out against same using several dependable mainstream and online media platforms of local and international credibility. In its monitoring and documentation, Intersociety re
20 Clergymen Killed & 50 Abducted Since June 2015
No fewer than 20 clergymen including at least eight Catholic Priests/Seminarians were hacked to death in the past 57 months and not less than 50 abducted or kidnapped. Among the slain Priests are Rev Father Clement Ugwu, abducted and killed on 14th March 2019, Rev Father Paul Offu abducted and killed on 1stAugust 2019 and Rev Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha killed by Jihadist Herdsmen at St. Ignatius Quasi Parish Ukpor-Mbalom (Benue) on 24th April 2018. Among the newest victims of killings targeted at Nigerian Christian leaders are Reverend Pastor Lawan Andimi and Reverend Pastor Denis Bagauri, all top officials of CAN in Adamawa State.
The abducted priests or clergymen included Catholic priests (Fathers Dim, Ezeokana and Chukwuemeka) abducted while returning from Nsukka to Onitsha and Nnewi when they were attacked by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in Sept 2016 along Nkpologwu-Nimbo Road in Enugu State. One of them later died. On the same Monday 26th September, 2016, a Vincentian Igbo Priest whose name was not given was also kidnapped with his brother along Abuja-Lokoja express way.
Five pastors of the Reverend Enoch Adeboye owned RCCG; all Igbo citizens were abducted on Friday, 2ndAugust 2019, but later freed. The five Igbo-pastors are: Deaconess Ibelegbo Chidinma, Chidozie Eluwa, Chiemela Iroha, Okoro Ohowukwe and Ndubuisi Owuabueze. In Dec 2018, two Catholic Priests were abducted by suspected Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen. The two Priests were of St Teresa’s Catholic Church Umueze Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State. The source said the priests were abducted at Umuleri while returning from an official function. This is just to cite but few.
Christian Travelers Abducted In Their Hundreds
Targeting and abducting Christian travelers on highways particularly in Northern Nigeria who are mainly citizens of Igbo extraction have also intensified and taken a dangerous dimension in recent months-whereby the victims are separated at gunpoint according to their tribe and religion. Same is applicable to victims of house to house looting during which Christians are separated from others at gunpoint and taken away or killed on the spot.
Christians particularly those of Igbo extraction are waylaid on highways and abducted into the bush and forced to pay ransom or face death including beheading or forceful conversion to Islam. Women among them are routinely subjected to sexual violence including rape and other forms of sexual assault. On 14th Jan 2020, no fewer than 58 Igbo Christian travelers through the Ezenwata Transport’s Luxury Bus were ambushed and forced to stop after which they were abducted.
The Boko Haram, Jihadist Herdsmen and “Highway Bandits” have been abducting travelers on major Nigerian highways including Abuja-Okene, Birnin-Gwari-Kaduna and Benin-Ore Federal Roads, etc. The abductees are held and tortured in captivity until they pay ransoms running into millions of naira each. Those who are unable to pay run the high risk of being killed or raped to death in captivity, if they are young women.
Jihadists Have Forced 4m-5m Christians To Flee & Destroyed 2000 Churches In 57 Months
Ceaseless killing of Christians in Nigeria particularly since June 2015 and burning or destruction of their churches and other worship centers followed incessant attacks against them by Boko Haram/ISWAP, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and a branch of Boko Haram, called “Bandits/Highway Kidnappers” who engage in roadway abductions and armed robbery and house to house looting; all for purpose of radical propagation of Islam and raising of ‘blood funds’ for themselves and advancement of their terror activities.
Generally, the number of indigenous Northern Christians forced to flee their ancestral homes, farmlands and sacred places of worship so as to escape being hacked to death or face forceful conversion to Islam and concomitant sexual violence or enslavement had sharply risen from “over 1.3m in 2014” (Open Doors Report 2015) to between 4m and 5m. The affected population had fled the country or relocated to some less risky capital cities in Northern Nigeria or cities and communities in the Southeast, South-south and Southwest parts of the country. The educated among them have become “urban refugees”.
The total number of Jihadist Herdsmen and Boko Haram generated internally displaced persons and refugees in Northern Nigeria-mostly Christians, are presently estimated at over 3m, rising from 2.6m as at 2017. Among the refugees are some ’90,000 Christian dominated Nigerian refugees (from Borno’s Gwoza alone) presently in Cameroon. Joined in fleeing the Islamic jihad affected parts of the North are sizeable number of Igbo Christian population resident in the areas, but now resettled in the Southeast and the South-south parts of the country.
The number of churches and other Christian worship centers destroyed or burnt since June 2015 in the North has also risen to over 2000, out of which Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen account for over 1500 while Boko Haram accounts for 500 others. Of the churches destroyed or burnt by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen, Benue, Plateau and Southern Kaduna are the worst hit. In eight years, between 2011 and 2019, Benue State had lost 600 churches and other Christian worship centers to Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen. By the account of Open Doors Int’l, “over 13,000 churches and 1,500 Christian schools were destroyed or burnt; with over 11,500-12,500 Christians killed and over 1.3 million Christians forced to flee their homes to escape being hacked to death by Boko Haram Jihadists between 2009 and 2014.