The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has said that Nigeria is becoming one of the most terrorized nations in the world and asks the federal government to end the high level of insecurity in the country in the interest of the traumatized present generation.
The clerics made this known in a communique issued to journalists in Abuja by the National Director of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, at the end of the second plenary of the Bishops’ Conference yesterday.
In the Communique co-signed by the CBCN President, His Grace Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, and Secretary, Most Revd Camillus Umoh, the Catholic bishops said that the government must be balanced and seen to be so in its response to the challenges of insecurity. While condemning the widespread attacks by bandits, they stated that “life has never been so cheap, nor has Nigeria ever been at the stage we are now.”
The Catholic bishops said it is clearly in the interest of the Federal Government and the entire nation to ensure that the youths in all parts of the country are gainfully employed to reduce the unrest, reports Vanguard News.
The Unrest
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2020, Nigeria was classified as the third most impacted country by terrorism. Only Afghanistan and Iraq ranked higher. The GTI report points out, “Of particular concern is the increasing terror threat from radicalised Fulani in Nigeria, where there is already an ongoing violent conflict between herders and farmers.”
Over the last six years in Nigeria, the everyday reality of robbery, kidnapping, and killings by Fulani bandits has been ongoing since the inception of the regime of President Muhammad Buhari.
Fulani Bandits have been wreaking havoc in Nigeria, killing people, destroying farmlands and crops. The violent activities of this terror group started as deadly attacks on farming communities across Nigeria, and the western flank of northern Nigeria in particular.
The western flank is the homeland of Nigeria’s indigenous Fulani people, which is now the epicenter of herdsman terrorism. According to the Nigeria Security Tracker, in the half-year of 2021, out of the 2,943 incidents of kidnapping in Nigeria, the North-West alone recorded the highest number of cases at 1,405.
Over 5,800 killings were recorded in Nigeria between January and June. In Northern states like Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, and Kebbi 1,137, 862; 715,407, 164, and 144 deaths are on top of the list of human slaughter slabs in Nigeria according to Premium Times.
In addition to kidnappings, robbery, and mass killings, killer herders are now controlling vast regions of ungoverned territories. These herders exercise authority and forcefully extract taxes and levies from farmers before they can plant in their farms or harvest their crops.
Who are the Fulani Bandits?
The Fulani people are the world’s largest nomadic group; about 20 million people are dispersed across Western Africa. They reside mainly in Nigeria, Mali, and Niger. The centuries-old Fulani heritage is pastoral, organized primarily around nomadic herding of cattle, sheep, and goats, though segments of the Fulani farm crops or live in urban areas.
The resulting conflicts over land have taken an ethnic and religious character, as many of Nigeria’s Middle Belt farmers are predominantly Christians. As a result, Fulani Bandits’ conflicts with farming villages have become more sinister than simple land disputes that boiled over into violence. Instead, armed Fulani has planned and executed operations that have killed and chased away Christians.
What should be done?
The refusal of the federal government to declare Fulani Bandits as terrorists encouraged killings by the bandits all over the states. The government has since proscribed some secessionist groups in the country. The government should exhibit honesty and sincerity in tackling the issue of armed herders in the country.
The Global Terrorism Index rates the Fulani Militia group as the fourth deadliest terrorist organization globally, so Nigerians worry why the government is refusing to tag them as terrorist organizations?
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Moving forward, the Nigerian government should start by building trust with local communities that are vulnerable to attacks by Bandits and setting up early warning and response systems, working with local vigilantes since the military is now spread too thin, and working with community leaders on the ground.
Factors that drive people to banditries: poverty, lack of education, joblessness, lack of capital punishment by the government, movement of arms and ammunition must be thoroughly frowned on, community policing should be encouraged, new military gadgets and new training methods must be adopted and in the hope that the menace will perish in Nigeria for a better and productive society.
Tunde Emmanuel Adeniyi is a Nigerian correspondent covering international politics and breaking news. He has a BA in History and International Studies and Post Graduate Certificate in Education.
