The UK’s Channel 4 broadcast yesterday a deep dive into violence from the Fulani militia in Plateau State. As the militia is made up of Muslims and their victims tend to be Christians, the never-ending attacks have been labelled “Christian genocide” by some, leading US president Donald Trump to declare Nigeria is a “country of particular concern”, ordering a missile strike against targets in Sokoto State on Christmas Day last year, and deploying US troops in the country, allegedly to help with the training of the Nigerian military.
Trump’s not so smart bombs land in Nigeria & the reaction from some Nigerians is similar
The Channel 4 programme revealed that 537 widows whose husbands were murdered by the Fulani militia live in an area in the outskirts of Jos, the capital of Plateau State. Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo told reporter Jamal Osman that he had performed about 70 mass burials following Fulani militia attacks.
Gaston Barrie, from the Relief and Intervention Committee, was not convinced that the violence was just about religion. He said other factors were at play – land grabbling, control of the economy with religion as a key factor.
The violence has fuelled hatred and suspicion of Fulanis as a whole even though those Fulanis that have settled among different communities are themselves victims of the attacks. A local Fulani man, Abdulahi Ibrahim sheltered 50 Christians in his home during an attack last year.
Rev Dachomo appealed for help from Trump and Christians abroad because “my government is helpless”. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, he seemed convinced that Trump had the interests of Christians in Nigeria at heart. Sadly, as we revealed earlier this year, the presence of US troops in Nigeria seem to have led to an increase in the violence.
Despite US troops’ presence in Nigeria, 1,000 Nigerians are being killed monthly
