A Nigerian-based civil society organisation, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has said no fewer than 350 Christians were killed in the country in the first two months of 2020.
The group stated this in a report titled “Nigeria: A Killing Field of Defenceless Christians,” released recently according to The Christian Post.
Intersociety is led by a Christian criminologist, Emeka Umeagbalasi,
Nigeria has been facing escalating security challenges posed by the operations of terrorist organisation, Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State’s West Africa Province.
Lately, the Fulani herders have killed many, particularly Christian farmers in the country’s north central region while highway bandits abducted and killed many others in north west region of the country.
UN estimates that no fewer than two million Nigerians have been internally displaced while 11 million people are in need of assistance.
The group said in the report that the Boko Haram terrorists, highway bandits and Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the deaths.
It stated that Fulani herdsmen were responsible for 250 of the 350 deaths while Boko Haram terrorists and bandits accounted for 100 deaths.
It said also indicated that Christians have mainly been the targets of Boko Haram’s attacks since January, especially in Borno, Adamawa and Taraba States in the north east region.
It said Fulani herdsmen killed about 2,400 Christians in 2018 and between 1,000 and 1,200 in 2019.
The group also claimed that about 11,500 Nigerian Christians have been killed since 2015.
It said, “Available Statistics have shown that between 11,500 and 12,000 Christians deaths were recorded in the past 57 months or since June 2015 when the present central government of Nigeria came on board,” the report said.
“Out of this figure, Jihadist Fulani herdsmen accounted for 7,400 Christian deaths, Boko Haram 4,000 and the Highway Bandits 150-200.”
Intersociety said it has been monitoring violence against Christians since 2010 using a team of criminologists, lawyers, journalists, security, and peace and conflict studies graduates.
It said, “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 people 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. On the part of ‘Bandits/Highway kidnappers’ in Northern Nigeria, most of their rural victims are Muslims while many, if not most, of their roadside victims are Christians travelling to northern or southern parts of the country using the Birnin-Gwari Federal Road, near Kaduna, etc.”
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