.How Nigeria/ Niger impasse promotes crisis
. Christian leaders demand urgent action
Protests have erupted in Jos, Plateau State, as residents, led by Christian leaders, demand urgent action against rising violence and killings by suspected Fulani militants.
On Monday, thousands of protesters marched in response to the ongoing violence and killings in the state and northern region.
Gunmen, suspected to be Fulani militants, have been blamed for a series of attacks, resulting in numerous deaths and widespread fear in the entire northern region and other parts of Nigeria.
In Nigeria, core northern Muslim communities in Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto and many others have also suffered horrific attacks by suspected Fula (Fulani) militants.
The protests, led by Christian leaders including Rev. Polycarp Lubo, the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), began at the Fawvwei Junction community road. The demonstrations caused significant traffic congestion, leaving many commuters stranded. The protests are in reaction to the growing violence, particularly the recent attacks in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas, where over 100 people have died in the past two weeks.
Gyang Dalyop, one of the protesters, explained to journalists, “We are not happy over the continuous attacks and killings by gunmen in our communities. That’s why we have come out again to protest these happenings.” Hannatu Philip, another protester, urged the government to take immediate action to prevent the situation from worsening, adding that the violence must be addressed before it escalates further.
The demonstrators, holding placards with various messages, marched towards the Rayfield Government House, calling on the authorities to intervene and end the violence affecting their communities.
Meanwhile, strained relations between Nigeria and its North West neighbour, Niger, have been fingered as one of the reasons worsening the incursions of Fula militants into the country.
Experts claim strained relations between Nigeria and Niger, stemming from Niger’s coup d’etat in July 2023, have affected joint military operations and given Fula militants, especially the Lakurawa group, more room to expand.
In November, the Nigerian army acknowledged the existence of Lakurawa and said its members were operating from headquarters in the country’s Sokoto and Kebbi states. Attacks by the group have killed hundreds of people, and suspected members of the group are known and have been declared wanted by the Nigerian army.
While it has not yet been established that the killings in Plateau, Benue, Edo and indeed many parts of the country are by the Lakurawa group, there is sufficient evidence to show that trans national Fula expansionism is at the heart of the Nigerian nightmare.
Clashes between nomadic cattle herders and farmers over land use are common in Nigeria. Benue’s Governor Hyacinth Alia had earlier blamed the attacks in the Ukum and Logo local government areas on “suspected herdsmen”.
With many herders belonging to the Muslim Fulani ethnic group, and many farmers Christian, the attacks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and the south often take on a religious or ethnic dimension.
Two attacks by unidentified gunmen earlier this month in neighbouring Plateau state left more than 100 people dead.
“The death toll (in Benue)has jumped to 56 from the attacks as at the last count,” Solomon Iorpev, the governor’s media advisor, told AFP following Alia’s visit to the scene.
That figure could rise as search-and-rescue operations continue, he added.