The violence in the region is causing large-scale dislocation, writes Abimbola Adesegun
Nigeria’s north central, previously known for serenity and bustling economic activities has today become one of the most insecure regions in Nigeria and indeed around the world given the level of wanton killings and destruction owing to the activities of rampaging criminal gangs, a mix of religious fundamentalists and herders men, who in the guise of grazing cattle have resorted to all manner of criminalities, including land grabbing and kidnapping for ransoms and murder.
These set of criminals have undertaken the felonious venture of kidnapping innocent citizens and obtaining huge ransom while also engaged in killing of persons and sometime families perceived to hold contrary religious beliefs or in the guise of fighting a ‘jihad’ or reclaiming lands. The continued criminal activities of these bandits over the years has brought overwhelming pain and suffering upon the poor, innocent and mostly under-privileged citizens, disrupted livelihoods, and strained social cohesion with huge economic impacts resulting in wide spread poverty.
Religious extremism has become a pervasive threat to safety and peace in the north central region especially in Plateau, Benue and Kogi States with a vast amount of the population living under serious fear, while many are in internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps across Nigeria. Religious intolerance and extremist ideology have further compounded tensions in Nigeria and unleashed a wave of insecurity across the central region which for many years had seen both Muslims and Christians live happily in same communities, sharing space and farmlands without rancor. But this is no more the case.
With ethno-religious tensions very high around most parts of Nigeria, religious extremism has emerged as a powerful insecurity-creating force jeopardizing the lives of many, especially women and children. Extremist religious groups have always aimed to impose their beliefs on others and stifle any sort of disagreement, motivated largely by their strict interpretations of religious concepts. The ensuing violence, driven by religious fanaticism, has destroyed towns, taken many lives, and caused fear and division among many hitherto peaceful communities in Nigeria’s vast north central region. Conflicts between religious groups have developed into a worrisome defining characteristic of religious war.
Violence which breaks out in the course of minor disputes or provocations, often swiftly turn into full-fledged religious war in which many families are killed and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. Innocent worshippers have been victims of senseless attacks, and places of worship have often been ransacked and burnt countless times. In addition to claiming lives, these conflicts widen the division. Local and foreign health workers, social development workers and other international and local non-governmental originations (NGO) staff have become easy targets for these insurgents and bandits.
Recently, a victim of the ensuing systematic extremist attacks summoned courage to speak about his near- death experience in the hands of religious fundamentalists. Narrating his ordeal in the hands of bandits, a development worker, Paul Amufor, stated that his agony started when he was posted as a temporary staff of a local NGO to provide assistance for a development project in Benue State. One of the days, while on duty, he was accosted and accused of promoting western education and the Christian faith in the community. In addition, the extremist group fingered him as having direct links with the secret police, an allegation he denied. Unknown to him, he was being monitored for possible assassination.
Getting to find out that an attack on his life was imminent, at first he said he had thought it was merely aimed at scaring him not until he was hounded and brutally attacked at night while returning home. The attackers who were on a motor bike identified him and began chasing him, and threaten to shoot at him. He summoned enough courage and raised alarm. Since no help was on sight, he took a slim chance and made an escape from the attackers but not without being directly shot at. Few days after he was attacked, he received the news that he was top target on the watch list of the attackers as having been marked for elimination for his alleged role in promoting education and Christian faith.
Worried about the situation and his safety, he sought for help to escape the community and was on able to get help for a number of days in hiding as his communication was also being tracked. After several days in hiding and several attempts, with the help of villagers, he managed to make an escape and headed for the state capital, Makurdi, where his family was waiting for him to return. However, unknown to him, his family was already being monitored and two nights after he returned, his house was attacked and fortunately he had arranged to stay in a hotel with his family while planning on how to evacuate from the state.
Gunshots marks, dogs killed and properties destroyed, the assailants were unable for the last time to get a hold of him, and his escape was a matter of luck. Fearing for safety and worried about the next possible attack, Mr. Paul Amufor and his wife and kids abandoned their properties and fled Makurdi, headed for the south western city of Lagos where he said he struggled for months to overcome the trauma, even though he never felt entirely safe since the attackers seem to have more than enough information about him and may still be on his trail. His story underscores that of many victims of similar attacks in recent past, many were unable to tell their story.
With attacks by the Boko Haram terrorists’ sect not abating, upsurge in the activities of bandits has crept into Nigeria’s fractured security system in recent years, creating anarchy in most part and causing many to flee their ancestry homes. These heavily armed bandits frequently work in gangs and engage in various degrees of crimes, including cattle rustling, land grabbing, and kidnapping for ransom and wanton killings of children and women. Their brazen attacks have resulted in the displacement of thousands of people and the loss of numerous lives.
Religious fundamentalist organizations deliberately seek out and recruit young people who are at risk, taking advantage of their poverty, and lack of options. These criminal groups entice impressionable people into a world of extremism by giving them a feeling of identity and purpose resulting in outright radicalization which has serious repercussions because it feeds the cycle of violence and poses a long-term threat to stability and security.
These mostly religious extremists, bandits and herders have been responsible for a continuous wave of violence that has caused a near total destabilization and collapse of Nigeria’s north central area and resulted in a continued senseless murder of unarmed civilians and security agents. Along with the loss of lives and properties, the security crisis has also resulted in community displacement, unimaginably levels of terror leading to wide spread poverty. There are instances where entire family members and households have been brutally attacked, murdered. Even pregnant women are not spared with their unborn children forcefully taken off and killed by these bandits. Children and women are inexplicably harmed, with huge physical and emotional scares that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
There has been several setbacks and inability on the part of the government to respond adequately to the threat posed by these bandits. With no one certain when the hostilities, threats and the killings will be over, it has become a matter of self-preservation to seek for safety and protection outside of their homeland for many.
Adesegun writes from Lagos
