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Nigeria

Nigeria Bishops ask president to consider position

27 Apr 2018

Nigerias Catholic Bishops Conference have urged President Mohammadu Buhari to consider stepping down.

Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops Conference issued a statement on 26 April urging President Mohammadu Buhari to consider stepping down in order to save the nation from total collapse.

The call follows the murders of two Catholic priests, Father Joseph Gor and Father Felix Tyolaha, and 15 parishioners, in an attack by approximately 30 Fulani herder militia men on St Ignatius Church in Mbalom village in the Gwer West Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State. The priests were celebrating morning Mass.

Fulani militia-related violence has been escalating since 2015. The central states of Nigeria, and particularly Adamawa, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and southern Kaduna, have experienced cyclical violence that has not been addressed, enabling it to spread to the south of the country. In Benue, attacks have continued, with at least 39 people killed in militia attacks on Tse-Umenge, Mbakpase and Tse-Ali villages in Guma LGA on 25 April. On 26 April, seven people who were sheltering in Africa Church after having been displaced by militia violence were killed in an attack on the Africa Church in Mbamondo, Ukemberagya/Tswarev ward of Gaambe-Tiev in Logo LGA. After killing the people the church and community, the militia men destroyed property and mounted a road block on Zaki Biam/ Wukari road, where they seized motorcycles and valuables from travellers.

In the statement, entitled ‘When will this barbarism end’, Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops, who are currently in Rome on an official visit, described the Fulani militia as “rampaging dangerous terrorists, who have turned the vast lands of the Middle belt and other parts of Nigeria into a massive graveyard.” They added that the fact that the victims were killed “in the course of the celebration of the Holy Mass early in the morning, suggests very clearly that their murder was carefully planned” and therefore could not be attributed to “a revenge attack (as is often claimed), for whom have these priests attacked?”

The statement also refers to a January 2018 Facebook post by Father Gor in which he said the local population was "living in fear” because of the  Fulani herders were refusing to leave the area: “Their desperate cries for security and help went unheeded by those who should have heard them. They could have fled, but, true to their vocation, they remained to continue to serve their people right unto death.”

The bishops lamented the fact that “the Federal Government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their hands”, while at the same time appearing to “stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship.”

The statement continues: “Along with millions of Nigerians, we have expressed our lack of confidence in the security agencies, which the President has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion.”

During a meeting with the president on 8 February, the Catholic bishops had expressed their concern at the increasing insecurity, violence and impunity, and urged him to address it as a matter of urgency. However, “since then, the bloodletting and the destruction of homes as well as farmlands have increased in intensity and brutality. Now our Churches have been desecrated and our people murdered on their altars.” As a result, Nigeria’s Christians “collectively feel abandoned and betrayed.”

The statement continues: “Since the President who appointed the Heads of the nation's Security Agencies has refused to call them to order, even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become.”

“Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation, have fallen on deaf ears. It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse.”

The bishops conclude with a call to Nigerians to “stand for their fundamental right to life and security. Government should encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments. This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self-defence. These are not normal times since those we pay to protect us have failed to do their duty. Nigeria can return to normal times if we put our heads together with sincerity.”

During a visit to Bauchi state on 26 April, President Buhari described the violence as ‘farmer – herder clashes’ adding that he might have been part of the problem had he not gone to school, and encouraged his audience to ensure their children receive an education.

Also on 26 April, the Nigerian Senate passed a resolution summoning President Buhari to appear before a joint session of the National Assembly and address it the spate of killings in the country.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: "The herder militia, which travels from state to state murdering men, women and children with impunity, have contributed   to a significant rise in lawlessness that now threatens the very integrity of the nation.  Once again, we urge President Buhari to make good on his assurances that the perpetrators of these brutal murders will be apprehended, and to ensure that culprits responsible for earlier massacres are also brought to justice. A holistic plan to tackle this violence must be devised and implemented without further delay.”

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