No fewer than 43,000 Christians
have been killed by Nigerian Jihadists in 12 years while 18,500 permanently
disappeared and 17,500 churches were attacked, according to a fresh report by a
Nigerian human-rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and the
Rule of Law (Intersociety).
Intersociety, in its
report released on Wednesday August 4 also put total number of moderate Muslims
killed by Jihadists in the same past twelve years at 29,000, stressing that of
the no fewer than 43,000 Christian deaths, 20% or over 8,600 deaths are members
of the Church of Brethren in Nigeria or EYN.
Intersociety said that the 43,000
Christian deaths occurred following systematic and coordinated attacks majorly
targeted at Christians by radical Islamists or Islamic Jihadists and their
collaborators (‘esprit de jihad’) in the Nigerian security forces.
“The Nigerian Jihadists
also sparsely and collaterally target moderate Muslims as collateral mistakes
or punishments of those collaborating with the ‘unbelievers’ or in revenge for
state actor attacks against their targets, or for purpose of
enforcement of Islamic Sharia law or code.
The group observed that
Islamic Jihadists and their ‘esprit de jihad’ in the Nigerian security forces
have been responsible for at least 18,500 Christian deaths arising from
enforced disappearances, or those abducted and most unlikely to return alive.
It noted that the 18,500
jihadist captivity slain Christians are out of estimated 26,000 of such deaths
since 2009, put by a UN Agency in 2019 at “22,500”, adding that the total
number of defenseless Nigerians abducted by the Jihadists since 2009 is put at
36,000, out of which 18,500 are Christians who are most unlikely to return
alive while most of the Muslims abducted by Jihadists in Nigeria are later
released unconditionally to their families, most of their Christian
counterparts are killed in captivity or forcefully converted to Islam and marry
thereafter.
Intersociety, further preaching religious freedom disclosed the following in
its latest report: “The atrocities of the Jihadists majorly directed at
Christians and their properties including homes, worship and learning centers;
ancestral lands, farmlands, forests and bushes include: massacres, killings,
mutilations, torture, maiming, abductions, hostage-taking, rape, girl-child
defilements, forced marriages, disappearances, extortions, forceful conversions
and destruction or burning of homes and sacred worship and learning centers as
well as forceful occupation of farmlands, destruction and forceful harvesting
of farm crops and other internationally prohibited acts.
“10 Million Christians Uprooted In
The North, Six Million Fled & Four Million IDPs Generated: In the same past twelve years, it was also
independently found that no fewer than 30 million Christians especially in
Northern Nigeria and their ethno-religion were threatened and ten million of
them have been uprooted, six million forced to flee their homes or geopolitical
locations to avoid being hacked to death and over four million displaced and
became IDPs; and out of the four million Christian IDPs, over one
million are found in Benue State and 1.3m in the ‘BAY’ States of Borno, Yobe
and Adamawa, excluding Taraba. Tens of thousands of Christians especially the
educated and the rich from Northern Nigeria have become ‘urban refugees’,
asylum seekers and refugees at international borders and foreign countries, so
as to escape being hacked to death or decapitated by the Jihadists. ‘Indirect’
deaths arising from the jihadist attacks in the country in the same past twelve
years are in hundreds of thousands and Christians are the most affected
including being the most brutally targeted and attacked. The ‘indirect’
jihadist fatalities arose from the outlawed military and jihadist groups’
bombings and killings arising from torture and custodial killings and enforced disappearances
as well as other deaths arising from starvation, lack of adequate medical
facilities and treatments, etc.
“17,500 Churches And 2,000
Christian Schools Attacked; In the past twelve years or July 2009 to July 2021,
at least 17,500 churches and 2,000 Christian schools and other learning centers
have been attacked by the Jihadists and destroyed in part or in whole, or
burned or razed down. In the past seven months of 2021, for instance, the
number of churches threatened or attacked and destroyed or burned down has
risen to over 300 and from July 2009 to July 2021, no fewer than 17,500
churches and 2,000 Christian schools have been affected. The number of Mosques
and Islamic learning centers attacked by the Jihadists is minutely
insignificant and acutely disproportionate when compared with the number of
churches or Christian schools attacked. While attacks on symbols of worship by
Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and Jihadist Fulani Bandits are 100 percent targeted
at churches and Christian schools, those perpetrated by BH, ISWAP, Ansaru and
others are mostly directed at churches and Christian schools with insignificant
percent directed at Mosques and Islamic learning centers.
“Corroborative Open Doors (USA)
Report: 2015: According to Ms Anna Mulder of the US based Open Doors, “between
July 2009 and Dec 2014, a period of five years, BH killed between 11,000-11,500
Christians in Northern Nigeria, forced 1.6m to flee their homes to avoid being
hacked to death by the Jihadists who also burnt or destroyed 13,500 churches
and 1,500 Christian schools”. It has been further found, independently, that
between Jan 2015 and July 2021, a period of six years and seven months, at
least 4,000 more churches and 500 Christian schools have been attacked and
destroyed or burnt in part or in whole by the Jihadists. While BH attacks on
churches and Christian schools, from 2009 to 2014 were majorly launched and
carried out in Plateau, Kano, Kaduna, FCT, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Yobe,
Gombe and Bauchi; the recent attacks especially by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen
have been targeted on Christian areas in Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna,
Taraba, Adamawa, Niger and Kastina states.
“Over 500 Christian Communities
Uprooted Since 2009: No fewer than 500 Christian communities have uprooted and
seized or taken over, renamed and Islamized by the Jihadists since 2009. BH,
ISWAP and Ansaru and Jihadist Fulani Bandits have forced Christians out of
their ancestral homes and communities in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi,
Taraba, Kastina, Sokoto and Niger States, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have sacked
hundreds of Christian communities in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba
and Adamawa States. Over 100 communities have been affected in Southern Kaduna
alone and in Benue, Plateau and Taraba States, Christian homes and churches
have been destroyed or burnt beyond recognition and their communities and
Christian sacred worship centers sacked and replaced with Mosques and Muslim
settlements. In all these, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Southern Kaduna and
Benue States are the worst hit. For instance, indigenous Christians used to be
dominant in Southern Borno, Southern Kebbi, Northern Adamawa, and parts of
Gpmbe, 40% in Kaduna and over 80% in Southern part of the State, 80% in
Plateau, over 90% in Benue and 60% in Taraba. They are also found in their
large numbers in five Local Government Areas of Niger State including Shiroro,
Munya and Rafi. But since 2009, these Christians and their settlements are
facing threats of annihilation in the hands of the Jihadists.
“Over 80% of fertile farmlands and
cultivated farmlands ancestrally owned by indigenous Christians across the
country have also been brutally threatened or attacked or occupied, leading to
country-wide chronic food shortages and galloping increases in their prices. In
the ancestral Igbo Lands of Benue, Kogi, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Anambra, Imo,
Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia states, Intersociety’s recent research had found that no
fewer than 700 forests, bushes and farmlands have been threatened, or attacked,
or occupied by the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen since 2016.
“Killing Of 43,000 Christians In 12
Years: Yearly Breakdown: Out
of independently estimated total ‘direct deaths’ of over 72,000 defenseless
Nigerian citizens in the hands of Islamic Jihadists and their ‘esprit de jihad’
in the country’s security forces since 2009, 43,000 Christians have died
involving: BH, ISWAP and Ansaru 18,000-18,500 Christian deaths, Jihadist Fulani
Herdsmen 18,500-19,000 Christian deaths and others 5,500-6,000 Christian deaths
including security forces 2,000-2,500 Christian deaths and Jihadist Fulani
Bandits (formed in Zamfara State in 2011) 3,500 Christian deaths. In other
words, from July 2009 to Dec 2014, BH killed 11,500 Christians and from Jan
2015 to July 2021, the Jihadist Terror Group, joined by ISWAP and Ansaru killed
additional 7,000 Christians. Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen, on their part, killed
6,500 Christians including 1,229 in 2014 and 1,300 in 2015, from Jan 2010 to
June 2015, a period of five and half years; and from June 2015 to July 2021, a
period of six years, the Government protected jihadist cattle herders had
attacked and massacred 12,500 Christians.
“Further Analysis: Further
breakdown, going by our previous reports and investigated others indicated that
Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen attacked and killed 650 Christians June-Dec 2015;
1,700 Christians in 2016; 2,000 Christians in 2017; 2,400 Christians in 2018;
about 1,200 Christians in 2019; more than 2,400-2500, out of 3,530 total
Christian deaths in 2020; and 2,100 Christians from Jan to July 2021-totaling
12,500 Christians killed by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen alone since June 2015
since the inception of the present Central Government. The above statistical
breakdown and analysis also indicated that Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen killings
doubled from Jan 2010 to June 2015, a period of five and half years with 6,500
Christian deaths; to 12,500 Christian deaths from June 2015 to July 2021, a
period of six years. Boko Haram Jihadists, on their part, killed more
Christians (11,500 Christian deaths) from July 2009 to June 2015, a period of
six years, than they (including ISWAP, Ansaru and others) have killed (7,000
Christians) from July 2015 to July 2021, a period of six years.
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