The International world's focus on Nigeria initially occurred with
the kidnapping of 300 schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria two years ago. The
culprit - a radical Islamist group, Boko Haram with a goal to carve out a
caliphate of its own. Atrocities have continued in the northeast, but little
attention has revealed the "silent" violence occurring in the Middle Belt of
Nigeria, especially in Taraba state. The perpetrators here are Hausa-Fulani
Muslim herdsmen. The victims are Christians.
Between 2013 December and 2015 July, 1,484 Christians were killed,
and 2,388 were injured. Property too was destroyed: 171 churches and 314 houses
as well as shops, fields, and other goods. The cause has been blamed on
"environmental degradation and migration." However, the Nigeria Conflict
Security Analysis Network (NCSAN) instead says findings point strongly to an
Islamist agenda of domination.
What happens to empty villages and abandoned fields? The Hausa-Fulani
Muslim herdsmen loot them and illegally occupy them.
NCSAN claims, "The atrocities committed by the Hausa-Fulani Muslim
herdsmen can be, at best, described as ethnic cleansing, and at worst, as
genocide." Open Doors International, which monitors persecution levels in
countries, urges further investigation and proof of guilt so that perpetrators
can be brought to justice.
The nation of Nigeria has climbed from 14 to 10 on the 2015 Open
Doors World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world. This
is a sad commentary since half of Nigeria's population is Christian. Window
International Network partners pray for Nigeria on Day 29 in accordance with the
Praying Through the Window 9: Global Terrorism and World Religions prayer
calendar.
