Islamic extremists killed no fewer than 360 defenseless civilians, including 260 Christians and 100 Muslims in the country in the month of October 2018.
A report, released yesterday by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, was signed by its board Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi and Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Obianuju Igboeli.
The report showed that jihadists perpetrated the killings in the Middle Belt Region of the country, particularly in Kaduna, Plateau and Benue, as well as in Adamawa and Borno states.
It also lamented the response of the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and the Nigerian Army to the killings, saying it was distasteful.
The breakdown of the over 360 deaths, revisited and evaluated by Intersociety, showed that no fewer than 135 Christians were killed in Kaduna State in October; specifically between October 18 and 21, 2018.
Over 53 Christians were killed in Jos, Plateau State in the past 30 days and not less than 30 (16 Christians and three Churches and 15 Muslims) in Lafia-Lamurde and Mamsirmi communities in Adamawa State on October 23, 2018.
The report also disclosed that in Benue State, no fewer than 14 Christians were killed in Agena and Agbaaye communities of Ukum and Okpokwu local government areas of the state.
In Borno State, along Maiduguri-Damboa Road and Molai Village in Jere Local Government Area, Boko Haram terrorists slaughtered 38 civilians, many of them Christians.
“Therefore, with the loss of no fewer than 260 Christians in the past 30 days, the total number of defenseless Christians killed by herdsmen, jihadists and their collaborators in the Middle Belt in the past 10 months of 2018 has risen to at least 2,262,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), has disclosed that at least 10 people are killed every month in Plateau, Nasarrawa, Benue and Kaduna states.
It also pointed out that over 200 people are being held at various security formations without trial, warning that the lingering ethnic crisis in some Northern states could snowball into a major national disaster that may affect the 2019 polls.
The National Working Group on Peace and Conflict Prevention (NWGPC) pioneered by JODER stated in its report yesterday that government and communities in Plateau, Nassaraw and Kaduna States were key to the resolution of the lingering crisis in the states.
It had submitted a comprehensive peace roadmap to governors of Kaduna, Plateau and Nassarawa states where ethnic conflicts had claimed several lives.
The report signed by Abukar Onalo, Chief Digifa Werenipre and Adewale Adeoye noted that the state governments and people were underestimating the crisis in Kaduna, Plateau and other Northern states.
(Sourced from the Guardian)
