Forgotten conflict: 14 deaths in new raid by nomads in Nigeria

Following the violent deaths of 14 people who got killed when Fulani nomads attacked a farming village in central Nigeria in the early hours of Monday, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses the Nigerian government of failing to curb the violence. “Everyone is talking about Boko Haram and the Islamist extremist violence in the north-east of the country – but tens of millions of Nigerians are more affected by the Fulani conflict than by Boko Haram,” said the STP’s Africa expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. “Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari must find a solution to the Fulani conflict instead of trying to sit out the crisis and, thus, leave the threatened peasants defenseless.” According to information by the STP, at least 523 people got killed in raids by Fulani nomads in central Nigeria since January 2015.

Most recently, armed Fulani attacked the village Kwata in the Nigerian federal state Plateau. They broke into six houses and hacked the inhabitants to death. Those who tried to escape were shot. Most of the victims are women and children. Before the attack, the Muslim Fulani had already sent notes to the Christian villagers, warning them that they should not hope for a peaceful Advent.

The rural population in the agricultural regions of central Nigeria is living in constant fear of new attacks by the nomads, who are also accused of rape and abductions. The violence – which has been escalating since the end of 2012 – is, in its core, a dispute over resources and grazing land, also due to the consequences of climate change. In addition to these economic and environmental factors, the Christian farmers also see the violence as targeted attacks against Christian people. The government has so far largely ignored the cries for help from the rural population. Nigeria’s famous human rights lawyer Femi Falana recently announced to file a lawsuit against the government, on the grounds of failure to act.

According to the STP, attempts to find a sustainable solution to the crisis must focus more on aspects of pastures and agriculture in northern Nigeria. New pastures have to be created and watered so that the Fulani nomads are no longer forced to drive their herds to the south, onto the agricultural land of the Christian farmers. Also, there must be more slaughterhouses and animal hospitals in northern Nigeria – to create jobs and to strengthen the nomadic economy. Finally, the farmers in the center of the country need better protection, and there must be more local initiatives aiming to make peace between the warring communities.

Header Photo: International Institute for Tropical Agriculture via Flickr