The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, – a Nigerian-based non-governmental organization that monitors human rights violations and advocates for peace and integrated society, – has asked the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth Secretary General, the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other international organizations to step up efforts to address rising armed attacks mostly on civilians in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The latest letter, a copy made available to Modern Diplomacy, titled “Calling For Urgent International Intervention To Stop State Protected Fulani & Other Jihadists From Wiping Out Christians In Nigeria” and was addressed to H.E. (Mr.) Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, Rt. Hon (Madam) Patricia Scotland, QC Secretary General of Commonwealth, H.E. (Ms) Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the Int’l Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor, ICC Headquarters, among others.
It said in part: We, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, are a federally registered human rights group in Nigeria, formed in 2008 with thematic mandate of campaigning for promotion and advancement of democracy and accountable governance, civil liberties and rule of law and public security and safety.
As a core part of our thematic mandate, Intersociety has, since 2010, followed, monitored (including patterns and trends of anti-Christian butcheries), researched, investigated, documented and published or exposed inter faith and intra faith intolerance and violence including massacre of Christians by Jihadists in Nigeria or any part thereof and persecution of Shiite Muslims by Sunni Muslim political and security actors.
Intersociety strongly opposes use of violence for religious propagation and adoption whether in principle or in practice, of any particular religion as a state religion by any sitting Government or its security and law enforcement agencies.
As a result of the above, Your Excellencies; and with greatest respect and humility, we wish to bring the attention of Your Excellencies to the following facts:
1. That Christians are at high risk of being wiped out by state protected Islamic Jihadists, especially the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen, parented by three major Fulani associations (Miyatti Allah, FUNAM and Fulani Houta lHore), all recognized and registered till date by the present central Government of Nigeria. Other jihadist groups massacring Christians in Nigeria are: Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and Jihadist “Bandits”. Of the named Jihadist groups, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen enjoy full state cover and protection and are also independently found dominating other jihadist groups.
2. That from January to July 2020, Jihadist Herdsmen have been responsible for no fewer than 1,027 Christian deaths and destruction or burning of thousands of houses and hundreds of worship and learning centers belonging to Christians. All their victims since 2015 and before then are Christians. The Jihadist group is further responsible for over 15,000 Christian deaths and destruction or burning of at least 1,500 churches and Christian learning centers in Nigeria since 2009.
3. That combined with anti-Christian killings by other Jihadists including Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and Jihadist “Bandits”, over 32,000 Christian lives and more than 17,000 churches and Christian schools have been lost since July 2009. Owing to the inaction and strongly suspected conspiratorial role of the present central Government of Nigeria since mid-2015, the number of Jihadist groups in Nigeria has also increased dangerously and uncontrollably from three (BH, Ansaru and Herdsmen) in mid-2015 to not less than 20 including splinter and autonomous jihadist groups.
4. That this is to the extent that they now operate, kill, maim, torture, rape, massacre and convert Christians and loot, plunder, burn and destroy their churches and other properties at will; with Nigeria’s central Government and its security forces looking the other side or doing little or nothing.
5. That specifically, Your Excellencies, a total of1,421 Christians have been hacked to death by Nigeria’s Jihadists in Jan-July 2020; a period of seven months. The breakdown of the massacre carefully monitored by Intersociety, shows that Jihadist Herdsmen accounted for 1,027 Christian deaths, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) 310 Christian deaths and Jihadist Ansaru and Jihadist “Bandits” over 60 Christian deaths. Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen also accounted for over 9,000 Christian deaths since mid 2015 when the present Government of Nigeria came on board.
6. That in Southern Kaduna alone, 683 Christian lives have been lost to Jihadist Herdsmen in the past 570 days or 19 months (1st Jan 2019-31st July 2020). Not less than 363 Christian lives were also lost to Fulani Jihadists in the past seven years or 1st Jan-31st July 2020 and in July 2020, alone, no fewer than 175 Christians were butchered by the same Jihadist group in the State.
7. For more details, Your Excellencies, please access the follow links concerning the ongoing butchering of Christians in Nigeria and strongly suspected complicity of the present central Government of Nigeria and some State Governments in the troubled areas including the present Government of Kaduna State.
a. Our latest report, dated 3rd August 2020: 1,421 Christians Hacked To Death By Nigeria’s Jihadists In Jan-July 2020:
b. Our updated Statistical Data File backing our recent reports on massacre of Christians in Nigeria, updated on 3rd August 2020:http://intersocieng.org/phocadownload/2019/file%20containing%20statistical%20sources2-converted%20new.pdf
c. Our recent statement, exposing eight major indicators vicariously and directly linking the present central Government of Nigeria to Fulani & BH Jihadism in the country, dated 31st July 2020:http://intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/558-eight-major-indicators-vicariously-linking-the-present-government-of-nigeria-to-herdsmen–bh-jihadism
d. Our recent letter to Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police urging the NPF to intervene and end ceaseless massacre of Christians in Southern Kaduna, dated 22nd July 2020:
f. Our updated version of the periodically reviewed reports on massacre of Christians in Nigeria, released on 12th July and updated on 24th July 2020 (1,202 Nigeria’s Christians Hacked to Death by Jihadists in Jan-June 2020): http://intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/556-nigeria
Our writing,Your Excellencies is in recognition of Your Excellencies’ respective international mandates for promotion and sustenance of global peace, security and stability. Going by enormous powers and responsibilities at Your Excellencies’ disposal, it will be gravely calamitous to sit and watch by and allow Nigeria, a country of multi-ethnicity and religions with explosive population of over 200m people; to explode into ‘complex humanitarian emergencies’; incapable of being managed if allowed to explode..
To UN Secretary General: We therefore urge the Secretary General of UN, H.E., Antonio Guterres, to consider the situation in Nigeria as dicey and a time-bomb and adopt effective measures to reverse same. These include investigating the massacre of Christians in Nigeria by the country’s Jihadists and the role of the present Government of Nigeria as well as doing the needful by briefing the UN Security Council and recommending to same to act without further delays. Totality of these is in line with the Principles and Purposes of the United Nations including international peace and security. The situation in Nigeria is a serious threat to international peace and security under the UN’s Principles and Purposes.
To Commonwealth Secretary General: We urge the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland, QC, to act by investigating the state actor and non-state actor roles in the Nigeria’s anti-Christian butcheries. The Secretary General is reminded about the Harare Commonwealth Declaration (1991) which affirmed that human rights are among the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth. … The Commonwealth Charter, agreed to by the Commonwealth’s Heads of Government in 2012 also underscores the commitment of Member States to Commonwealth principles and values inclusive of human rights. Nigeria, as a key member of Commonwealth, must not be allowed to transform into and exist as a jungle.
To the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor: We urge the Chief Prosecutor of ICC, H.E. (Ms) Fatou Bensouda to break its long years of silence and inaction regarding the ongoing butcheries in Nigeria. The delays by the ICC to do the needful in Nigeria since 2010 when it “opened its investigations on Nigeria” are technically responsible for the loss of over 32, 000 Christians and 17,000 churches and Christian schools and tens of thousands of Christian houses and hectares of their ancestral lands.
Such delays are also technically responsible for the massacre of thousands of Muslims by fellow Muslim radicals including victims of Jihadist Banditry attacks and state actor massacre of over 1300 Shiite Muslims and over 480 Judeo-Christians dominated by Igbo citizens. In line with the plain wording and language of the ICC Statute of 1998, ratified by Nigeria in Sept 2001, “crimes against humanity including massacre of Christians; war crimes and genocide (including anti-Christian butcheries) have been committed in ‘industrial scale’ in Nigeria by state actors and non-state actors and are still ongoing”. We, therefore, urge the ICC to act immediately.
