Details have slowly emerged of attacks carried out
by mainly Muslim Fulani herdsmen in central Nigeria’s Benue state, near its
border with Taraba state, from the end of June until now. They were on the
communities of Logo, Ukum and part of Wukari.
Early reports said that 81 people were killed, but
local sources contacted by World Watch Monitor said that the toll has now
reached at least 133. An undetermined number of properties have been looted or
destroyed, including 65 churches.
Locals told World Watch Monitor that from 18 June
until now, Fulani herdsmen have occupied almost all of the areas named
above: and that some church buildings
and premises are now being used as camps, from which the herdsmen continue to
attack other Christian communities.
Benue State has been wracked with deadly violence.
More than 500 people were killed in February in the mainly Christian area of
Agatu. About 20,000 people are thought to have fled the wave of attacks, which
some locals say is the worst massacre by Fulani herdsmen since 2010 – when
400-500 died near Jos.
Fulani violence in the central Nigerian Middle Belt
has features long familiar to Nigerians: ethnic Fulani cattle herders, largely
Muslim, moving in on farmers, largely Christian. The long-running land conflict
is frequently framed in economic terms, but the current violence is beyond the
grazing issues between local farmers and Fulani herdsmen, the Chairman of the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Benue State told World Watch Monitor.
“This is another jihad like the one waged by Boko
Haram in the north-east of the country,” said Rev. Augustine Akpen Leva. “The
attackers carry sophisticated weapons, sometimes they even used chemical
weapons on our communities. They just come, often overnight when people are
sleeping. They attack defenseless people and go away. They clearly have an
agenda: to wipe out Christian presence and take over the land.”
The recent violence has claimed an undetermined
number of lives in Benue State. “Lots of people have been killed and it is
difficult to get an accurate death toll of the attacks,” said Rev. Leva.
“Sometimes they kill 20, another day they may kill 50. In recent weeks, more
than 100 were killed in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas.”
The violence has had a dramatic impact on local churches,
which have witnessed the departure of dozens of their members.
The population is on the run. People have not been able to
attend services, for security reasons. Sometimes in a church of 2,000 members,
only 50 will attend.
“The pastors are also on the run. Their houses have also
been destroyed and their members have been scattered all over, with many living
in camps now,” said Rev. Leva.
Since last year, over 200 churches have been destroyed in
Benue State alone. Schools and other social services have not been spared.
Rev. Leva, who
blames the authorities for not providing protection despite the ongoing
violence lamented “It is a really pathetic situation.”
“The government has failed us,” he said. “There’s no
protection at all. The few security forces, which are often present, ran away
before the attack.”
He said the continuing violence will have lasting
consequences for the local communities, who may face food shortages in the near
future because all types of farms have been completely destroyed – those
growing yams, cassava, beans, maize, corn, rice, soya beans, groundnuts, etc.
Moreover, farmers are now afraid to go out to farm, as they are frequently
picked off by the herdsmen’s guns.
“We call on the government to protect our people, so that
they can continue to go to their farms without any fear of being killed,”
continued Rev. Leva.
The ongoing attacks have left hundreds dead and led
thousands to flee from the largely Christian areas of Benue, Taraba, Plateau,
Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger states in
Nigeria’s farming belt.
On Monday night (Jul 18) suspected Fulani herders attacked
and killed the traditional ruler of the Ron/Kulere tribe (Bokkos Local
Government Area), in Plateau State. Sir Lazarus Agai, a Christian, was attacked
on his way home from his farm.
It is believed that there has been a long-running
disagreement between Agai and the herdsmen over his refusal to issue them with
cards stating that they are indigenes to the state.
In the Nigerian system
indigenes to a state enjoy benefits over non-indigenes.
It’s the 3rd Christian
district head killed by Fulani herders this year.
And on 30 June Rev. Joseph Kurah was hacked to death by
suspected armed Fulani herdsmen in Obi, Nasarawa.
According to researcher Yonas Dembele, analyst for Open
Doors International, which works with Christians under pressure for their
faith, the pattern of Fulani violence in the region - their use of
military-grade weapons to drive Christians off the land and to occupy it; the
destruction of Christian homes and churches; and their call for the imposition
of Islamic law, among other hallmarks - amounts to ethnic cleansing of the
Middle Belt.
The campaign, he argues, is ultimately animated by the same
ambition that drives Boko Haram to the north: to bring the non-Islamic world
under Islamic rule.
Original document by worldwatchmonitor.org
Photo: benuenews.com
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