Report: Christians targeted by Fulani herdsmen

ABUJA, Nigeria—Christians in Nigeria’s Nasarawa state have been specifically targeted in attacks by Fulani herdsmen, according to a report released last week by the Nigerian Conflict Security Analysis Network (NCSAN).

Nasarawa state, located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, has seen recurring attacks from Fulani herdsmen as changing environmental conditions have led cattle herders to migrate toward the area known for its rich vegetation and fertile soil. But NCSAN said the issue of climate change undermines the reality of the ongoing religious persecution.

“The atrocities committed by the Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen, in addition to some policies of the Nasarawa state government, indicate there is a jihad to ensure that the Islamic presence takes precedence over any civil, social, and political institutions,” the report said.

According to the study, which gathered data on attacks in the region between January 2013 and May 2016, the ongoing conflict has injured 826 Christians and killed some 878 others, the majority of them men. The attacks also destroyed 102 churches in some predominantly Christian local government areas.

“The persecution of Christians is not only to uproot them from their ancestral homes, but also to substantially weaken the spread and influence of Christianity in the area by attacking their churches,” the report said. “These areas are among the most fertile in the state, with lush vegetation and high soil fertility.”

In addition to inflicting death and injuries, the herdsmen have destroyed 787 houses belonging to Christians, displacing many of them. NCSAN said 21,037 Christians lived in camps for internally displaced people between November 2013 and December 2015, though the total number of displaced persons is higher. Some of the Christians said they fled to neighboring Christian-dominated states when the conflict began, rather than Nasarawa’s capital, Lafia. Christians at a camp 9 miles from the capital said no senior government official had visited the camp, although the governor visited a camp created for Muslims who fled in fear of retaliatory attacks from Christians.

Nasarawa’s majority Muslim government partly explains why the atrocities against Christians have continued unabated, the report said. The state’s Christian population has grown to 53.1 percent, but its governing body, traditional institutions, and national media outlets remain under the control of Muslims.

NCSAN said the government has done little to respond to the increasing attacks. The state government set up an inquiry commission to look into the violence in some local government areas, but no implementation has followed. The present system in the state will not allow for peace, the study’s authors said, calling on external intervention to end the persecution.

“The continuous promotion of Islamic supremacy over and above other religions in the affairs of the state remains an obstacle to peace,” the report said. “It is up to international agencies (as well as other organizations within the country) to rise up resolutely and halt the persecution of Christians in Nasarawa state.”