A major human rights organization has labeled the killing of Christians in Nigeria as "genocide" amidst new reports of murders.
Following another attack on a Nigerian Christian community, a major human rights organization is labellig the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria as "genocide." On April 4, three Christians died after Fulani herdsmen attacked them.
"Christians are killed daily in Nigeria," Addison Parker of the U.S.-based International Christian Concern (ICC) declared, as per Crux Now. The attack on April 4 came just two weeks after another deadly attack on March 23 that killed up to 34 people, including two military personnel and 32 residents.
"Many houses were destroyed, with some reports estimating up to 200 homes burned down," Parker reported. "Spiritually, this attack further devastates Nigerian Christians who feel hopeless in their efforts to secure their communities."
Parker added that the attacks on Christians in Nigeria are often carried out by militant extremists such as the Fulani, Boko Haram, and its offshoot, the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP). The ICC leader reported, "Christians in Nigeria's North and Middle Belt live in constant fear of these attacks due to their frequency and severity."
Nigeria's population is currently more than 200 million and its is almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. But in the Muslim-majority north, Nigerian Christians face the most persecution. There, Sharia law has been imposed in a number of states, as well as in what is called Nigeria's "Middle Belt," where the mostly Muslim north meets the Christian south.
Since 2002, the Islamist Boko Haram have been operating in the northeastern part of Nigeria, where Fulani herdsmen, who are Muslim, have been attacking Christian farmiing communities within and outside the area.
Parker reported that in the Middle Belt, it is rare that a month would go by without any big or small attakcs on Christians. These attacks are carreied out by Muslim Fulani herdsmen and militia, who destroy chuches and vandalize property. Parker added, "The pattern of the attacks shows that they are often well coordinated."
This has led the ICC to label such brutal killings and attacks as genocide. Parker explained that the United Nations or UN "defines genocide as intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group." He reasoned, "This is exactly what is happening in Nigeria at the hands of Fulani militants, Boko Haram, and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa."
Parker reported that Christian farmers are "being killed daily" while priests are "targeted" while churches are being "burned down." He added that Muslim herders are seeking land and resort to land grabbing and that they are "fueled by the extremist notion that they are superior to those whom they consider 'infidels' - anyone that doesn't follow their extremist agenda."
Parker also reported that this mentality gives the militants "an excuse to rid the country of anyone they see as a threat to their goals, all in the name of Allah," something that has been going on for the last 20 years. The ICC has also criticized the Nigerian government of being complacent about these attacks, especially when the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is a devout Muslim and has had a "fraught relationship with the country's Christian community."
This week, ICC reported that Christians came out to protest the recent killings and demand for justice. Protesters gathered at the Plateau State capital city of Jos, carrying signs that read, "Stop Christian Persecution," "End the Killings," and "We Want Justice." The Secretary to Plateau State Government, Prof. Danladi Atu told the protesters that the state government would ensure the justice they so badly seek.
