- Says ‘Fulani Land Grab’ Has Gone Unreported In Nigeria
- ISWAP Leading Transition Phase of Jihadism In Lake Chad Region
The Boko Haram sect has killed over 50,000 Nigerians, since the recalcitrant terrorist organization launched its carnage over a decade ago, against the people and government of Nigeria, a new report which chronicled the ongoing acts of violence in Nigeria has revealed.
While 52,861 persons were recorded to have been killed by the Boko Haram terrorists’ group, 44,303 were documented to have been killed by other violent actors, according to the report published by International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) in collaboration with the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ).
Entitled: ‘Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter: Genocide in Nigeria and the Implications for the International Community’, the report said that “genocide is taking place in Nigeria” currently under various guiles, warning that “an implosion in the country would destabilize the surrounding countries and send millions of refugees into Europe and beyond.”
According to the compendium on the various acts of crime, terrorism and criminality in Nigeria as detailed in the 314-page report made available to The New Diplomat, Boko Haram — a Jihadist group which has continued to push for its agenda of making Nigeria an Islamic state, has killed over 27,000 civilians, more than ISIS had killed in Iraq and Syria combined.
ICON in its report also exposed the ongoing attacks by armed militas, who according to the report, have killed many Nigerians, primarily Christian farmers, subjecting many to religious persecution.
The report further stated that based on the data collected between January 2000 and January 2020, deaths resulting from attacks by Fulani herdsmen and other militia groups hit 19,101, across the country.
The report by ICON said the “Fulani land grab” phenomenon has largely gone unreported and undocumented in Nigeria as many news reports simply focused on the victims of the incessant herders-farmers conflict. “134,028 acres of farmland are in the hands of Fulani, preventing over 120,000 people from making their living from farming,” across Nigeria, the report said.
The report listed several martyrs of faith in the country to include Leah Sharibu, the lone Christian girl, who is still in terrorists’ custody after 109 of her colleagues kidnapped from a school in Dapchi, Yobe state on February 19, 2018, had regained their freedom. “Until today she remains a heartache for Leah’s parents and a problem for President Buhari,” The New Diplomat quoted the report as saying.
Congressman, Frank R. Wolf, a retired Member of U.S Congress (1981 – 2014), who wrote an introduction statement for the ICON report, commented on the transition pattern of Jihadism in Nigeria. Wolf quoted the Jamestown Foundation to have said: “One thing for sure: the factional dynamics in jihadism in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region will continue to shift, while the violence expands, deepens, and becomes more intractable.”
Recall The New Diplomat had recently reported that the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP)’s recent territorial onslaught against Boko Haram had led to the death of the spiritual leader of the monstrous sect, Abubakar Shekau, who killed himself to escape capture by the rival Jihadists in his Sambisa enclave.
ISWAP, which many security intelligence sources had predicted to lead the transition phase of Jihadism in the country alongside the guerrilla herdsmen, would later reveal in a viral message by its leader, Abu Albarnawi that it killed Shekau on the order of ISIS for deviating and killing “believers.”
Congressman Wolf in his recommendations urged the United States government to appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region to effectively “coordinate the U.S response to the crisis by various agencies our government and who can work with our allies in France, England and other NATO countries.”
The report presents researched and documented data and analysis that highlights the critical need for intervention by the United States (coordinated by an empowered Presidential envoy) to address the situation in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.
The NGO urged the Nigerian government to upgrade the quality of service chiefs to personnel who can demonstrably, emphatically and proactively tackle and address the present crisis of insecurity in order to make the country safe again.
The report’s recommendations include a comprehensive review of the country’s constitution to wholly address injustice nationwide. This, according to the report, will correct inconsistencies, inequalities, and jurisprudential mischief that compromise the letter and spirit of the country’s civil association as political community.
ICON added that it has empowered a team of international lawyers to make a prima facie case that religious persecution/genocide is occurring and call on the United States to intervene and coordinate an international response to address the growing human rights abuses and threat in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region.
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