Rev. Timothy Daluk, who is the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Plateau State, recently denounced arson and killings targeting Christians.
“I am here to report the situation happening in Mangu local government so that the whole world can understand it. What is happening in Mangu at this precise moment is the military sending our people far away so that the militias burn their houses,” Daluk said in a message that went viral on social media.
He added: “Enough is enough. We cried, but the government does not listen to us.
Comments came after the massacre of at least 140 Christians during the Christmas holidays to close out the year 2023. Attacks on 26 villages in Plateau State began on December 23, carried out by Muslim Fulani herdsmen against Christian farming communities.
Some residents said it took more than 12 hours before security agencies responded to their call for help.
“Come to our aid”
Daluk said the people of Mangu do not want Nigerian forces in the besieged area, saying: “We do not want soldiers in Mangu local government. They should pack their bags and leave. We don’t want it. … They received a prize for fulfilling their duty.
In his appeal for international intervention in the Mangu massacres, Daluk said: “I appeal to the world to understand that this thing must stop and people must come to our aid to save us. Otherwise, it’s an evil plan on their part to destroy the Mangu local government. Because the governor is from here and we won’t allow it.
Speaking to journalists in January, the African country’s director of defense media operations, Major General Edward Buba, said: “DHQ is in the process of reaching out to him to substantiate these claims.” »
“It is not uncommon for emotions to cloud people’s judgment when they are faced with a very traumatic experience,” Buba added.
Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria director, said the Nigerian government had failed to take “concrete steps” to protect lives in the region.
“Sometimes they claim to make arrests, but there is no proof that they did,” he said. said in a message posted on. “The blatant inability of the authorities to protect the Nigerian population is gradually becoming the norm. »
Others agreed.
Genocide in Nigeria “should be the concern of every other human being, of every person, man and woman, of good will,” said Mgr Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Catholic bishop of the diocese of Makurdi, Benue state. told CatholicVote in an interview last month.
But Open Doors remains optimistic in its projections for the near future.
“Last year saw the installation of a new president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu replacing Muhammadu Buhari, and it is unclear what this might mean for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria,” the report noted.
Although Buhari and Tinubu are both Muslims, the report adds that the new president “has carried out a major reshuffle, which allows for a better representative balance of the two faiths. … This could result in a positive shift towards recognizing the scale of human rights violations perpetrated against Christians and lead to more effective intervention by security forces to protect Christians. However, no proof has yet been provided.”
