YAOUNDÈ, Cameroon – While Christians in most countries around the world were full of Christmas joy, it was the opposite atmosphere in Nigeria’s Central Plateau State where attacks in several localities on Christmas Eve at least 160 dead and around 300 others injured.
The attacks began on Saturday and continued until Christmas Day. They targeted 20 Christian villages in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi areas of Plateau State.
“We were taken by surprise and those who could run fled into the bush. Many of those who failed were captured and hacked to death,” local resident Magit Macham told Reuters.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Okoro Alawari, said 96 people were killed in two of the 20 local government areas (LGAs) – Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi – and 221 houses were destroyed. been set on fire.
“The Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, CP Okoro Alawari, expresses sadness over the deadly attacks that took place in some remote villages in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State. Plateau, carried out by assailants not yet identified on the territory. December 24, 2023 at odd hours of the night, and sympathizes with the families of those who lost their loved ones in this horrific attack,” the statement said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Tuesday condemned the Christmas Eve attacks, with its president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, saying in a statement:
“We condemn these acts of violence in the strongest possible terms. The burning of houses and worship centers as well as the destruction of properties worth millions of naira is not only a criminal act but also a direct attack on our common values of peace, unity and mutual respect.
“Such acts have no place in our society and must not be allowed to prevail,” the archbishop said.
A Catholic-inspired NGO called Intersociety also condemned the killings, saying in a Dec. 26 statement that the massacre “was likely a government-coordinated clandestine vengeance using government-protected Fulani jihadists to launch a retaliatory attack against the murder of December 3. over 120 helpless Islamic festival celebrants in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State,” the group said.
The Muslims, numbering over 120, were killed by two airstrikes coordinated by the Nigerian Defense Headquarters of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The military said it was accidental, but Intersociety board chairwoman Emeka Umeagbalasi said Node he was not surprised by the latest attacks.
“We are not surprised by what happened in Plateau State yesterday (December 24),” he said.
“It’s really unfortunate what’s happening,” he said.
“We have bloodsuckers everywhere, and as I said before, the Nigerian security forces are biased, grossly biased. They are pro-Islamist security forces,” he said.
“If the Nigerian security forces were operational, some of this nonsense would have stopped. But our security forces are grossly biased and partisan,” Emeka said. Node.
He noted that highly militarized states such as Kaduna, Plateau and Benue have become “dangerously dangerous for Christians and other non-Muslims, as Fulani jihadists recklessly and rapaciously invade Christian communities and other non-Muslim settlements. at will and massacre them. at will and without dispute.
“Even when the deployed security forces receive early warning signals from the victims, the Fulani jihadists still achieve their goals and massacre as many defenseless Christian citizens and burn their properties as they wish and without resistance from from the security services,” he said.
Emeka also accused the government of complicity in the killing of Christians in Nigeria, describing the federal ruling party as “the political wing of the Fulani butchers.”
“The Nigerian government has continued to treat Christians as third-class citizens and Muslims as first-class citizens,” Emeka said. Nodeand noted that such instrumentalization of religion goes against the letter and spirit of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution which expressly prohibits the elevation of any religion to the rank of state religion.
He predicted that by the end of the year at least 4,500 Christians would have been killed in Africa’s most populous country, a figure he said reflected recent trends.
“We monitored the killings of Christians last year. Ultimately, up to 5,000 Christians were massacred. The same was applicable in 2021, a little less in 2020, and this year, from January to July, we have already counted more than 2,500. Nigeria will end 2023 with no less than 4,000 Christian deaths,” he said. -he declares. Node.
“There are a lot of butcheries in the country, a lot of disappearances, a lot of kidnappings. Security forces kidnap Christians, giving them a false image. Fulani jihadists are killing Christians,” he said.
