Fulanis kill more Christians than Boko Haram, ISWAP: Report

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Fulani herdsmen and other often allied “bandit” terrorists killed more civilians than Islamist extremist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in a four-year period in Nigeria, a new report says Report.

“Other terrorist groups,” commonly referred to as “Fulani bandits,” killed 12,039 civilians from October 2019 to September 2023, while “armed Fulani herdsmen” killed 11,948 civilians, according to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) report dated March 29. August).

According to the ORFA report, the better-known Boko Haram and ISWAP together killed 3,079 civilians.

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The Fulani herdsmen are part of the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) and a section of the “other terror groups” known as “Fulani bandits” are believed to be linked to the FEM, the report added.

“This implies that FEM is a much larger factor in Nigeria’s culture of violence than Boko Haram and ISWAP,” the ORFA report said, noting that most of the victims were Christians.

“Data shows that more Nigerian Christians have been victims of violence than Nigerians belonging to other religious affiliations,” it said. “Among the 30,880 civilians killed in the four-year reporting period, the number of Christians killed was 16,769, while the number of Muslims killed was 6,235.”

Of the 21,532 civilians abducted, 11,185 were Christians, while the number of Muslims abducted was 7,899, the report said. According to ORFA, 154 members of African traditional religions (ATRs) were killed and 184 abducted, while the religion of 7,722 civilians killed and 2,264 abducted was unknown.

Taking into account the relative sizes of the Christian and Muslim populations in the states studied, the ratio of Christians to Muslims killed was 6.5 to 1 and the ratio of Christians to Muslims kidnapped was 5.1 to 1, the report said.

“The ratio of Christians killed to Muslims killed increases significantly when the religious composition of states is taken into account,” compared to the overall figures, which show a ratio of Christians killed to Muslims killed of 2.7 to 1, and the The ratio of Christians to Muslims was 1.4 to 1, the report said.

In total, 55,910 civilians and security personnel were killed in 9,970 attacks, while 21,621 people were kidnapped in 2,705 attacks, although there was some overlap. ORFA documented 11,610 attacks in which people were killed and/or kidnapped, of which 8,905 were killings without kidnappings; 1,065 were both killings and kidnappings; and 1,640 were kidnappings without killings.

“That’s an average of eight attacks per day involving killings and/or kidnappings over a four-year period,” the report said. “These figures include attacks in which civilians, security forces and/or terrorist groups were killed and kidnapped.”

Muslims were killed by the same groups that killed Christians, although at different percentages: 55% of Christians killed were killed by armed Fulani herdsmen (9,153) and 29% by other terrorist groups (4,895). According to the report, Boko Haram and ISWAP together were responsible for only 8% of Christians killed (1,268).

For Muslims, the reverse was true: 24% of Muslims killed were killed by armed Fulani herdsmen (1,473) and 53% by other terrorist groups (3,334). Boko Haram and ISWAP combined accounted for only 12% of the Muslims killed (770).

The main area of ​​attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen was in the north-central region of Nigeria, including the southern part of Kaduna State. For other terrorist groups, it was the northwest that also crossed over to the north-central, according to the report. The main area of ​​operation of Boko Haram and ISWAP was in the northeast.

“The epicenter of the violent attacks was in the northwest and north central,” the report said. “Most civilian killings occurred in the northwest (11,626) and north-central (8,789). The Northeast followed with 5,521 civilians killed.”

For Christians, these figures were 5,250 deaths in the northwest, 6,081 in the north-central and 2,595 in the northeast; for Muslims the numbers were 3,678, 1,106 and 1,262 respectively.

Over the four-year reporting period, the northwest was the epicenter of kidnappings, followed by the north-central.

“The kidnapping phenomenon started slowly in the 2020 reporting period but picked up pace from 2021,” the report said. Most civilian abductions occurred in the Northwest with 12,042 and North Central with 6,325.

Among Christians there were 5,931 and 3,277; for Muslims there are 4,976 and 2,469 respectively, according to the ORFA report.

“The same attackers who were responsible for most of the killings were also by far the most important players in Nigeria’s kidnapping industry,” the report continued. “Most civilians were abducted by other terrorist groups (13,728) and armed Fulani herdsmen (6,380). Boko Haram and ISWAP together kidnapped 1,023 civilians. The data warns that national and international attention is focused primarily on Boko Haram and ISWAP, and FEM activities are largely overlooked.”

Muslims were abducted by the same groups as Christians, although at different rates. Of the Christians, 60% were kidnapped by other terrorist groups (6,675) and 35% by armed Fulani herdsmen (3,914). Boko Haram and ISWAP together were responsible for only 4% of abductions of Christians (422).

For Muslims, it was similar: 71% of abducted Muslims were abducted by other terrorist groups (5,635) and 24% by armed Fulani herdsmen (1,903), according to the report. Boko Haram and ISWAP together were responsible for only 4% of kidnappings of Muslims (300).

While the ORFA report highlighted economic motives for the attacks as herdsmen seek to take over farmers' land for grazing, Rev. Yusufu Turaki, former vice president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), cited Fulani herdsmen and others as the target The jihadists' goal is to destroy Christianity and Christians, confiscate their land, establish an Islamic state and enforce Sharia (Islamic law).

“The most striking point is that the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) is killing Nigerian civilians unhindered,” Turaki said. “Mass killings, kidnappings and the torture of entire families go largely unchallenged as government forces pursue targets hundreds of kilometers away, the research says.”

The Islamic aggressors appeared to want to overthrow the Nigerian government, he said.

The ORFA report shows that people at home were most at risk. Most civilians were killed (25,312) or kidnapped (16,761) in attacks on their communities; In other isolated attacks, 5,568 civilians were killed and 4,771 people were kidnapped.

The Islamic extremists targeted both Christians and moderate Muslims who did not follow their ideology.

“Since 2015, there have been repeated reports of differential treatment of Christian and Muslim prisoners by members of terrorist groups,” the report said. “Differences in treatment have been observed based on reports from victims or their families related to forced labor; sexual violence; ransom demands and release; execution risks; religious tests.”

According to Open Doors' 2024 World Watch List (WWL) report, Nigeria continued to be the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ. From October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, 4,118 people were killed because of their faith. Nigeria also had more kidnappings of Christians than any other country, at 3,300.

According to the report, Nigeria was also the country with the third highest number of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings such as hospitals, schools and cemeteries, at 750.

In the WWL 2024 list of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria was in 6th place, as in the previous year.

The predominantly Muslim Fulani number in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel and include hundreds of clans of diverse descent that do not hold extremist views. However, some Fulani espouse radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom's All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom Belief (APPG) was mentioned in a 2020 report.

“They are pursuing a similar strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and strong symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report said.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen's attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria's Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcibly take over Christians' lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to maintain their rights to feed herds.

Originally published at Christian Daily International–Morning Star News