UK parliament ha reacted to recent killings in Nigeria
- Suspected herdsmen had on Sunday, June 24, killed about 120 people in Plateau state
- The UK parliamentarians, however, asked President Buhari to find a lasting solution to end the incessant killing in the country
The United Kingdom parliament has described recent killings by the suspected herdsmen and other violent acts in the north central states of Nigeria as deeply disturbing, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to stop the carnage.
Nigerian Tribune reports that Lord Alton of Liverpool raised the Nigerian security issue at the House of Lords on Thursday, June 28, drawing support from members across party lines.
NAIJ.com gathered that the verbatim report of the debate of the Nigerian security challenges by the UK House of Lords are contained in the parliament’s records website: hansard.parliament.uk.
A cross section of the UK lawmakers who spoke on the killings in Nigeria described the scale and the frequency of the attacks as disturbing and alarming.
Lord Alton who raised the issue, spoke on “the more than 200 people, mostly women and children, who were killed in sustained attacks on 50 villages by armed militia just this past weekend”adding that “People are dying daily."
“This alone should serve as a wake-up call. Are we to watch one of Africa’s greatest countries go the way of Sudan? Will we be indifferent as radical forces sweep across the Sahel seeking to replace diversity and difference with a monochrome ideology that will be imposed with violence on those who refuse to comply? We must not wait for a genocide to happen, as it did in Rwanda. Ominously, history could easily be repeated,” Alton warned.
Another parliamentarian, Lord Suri said:“The situation has been exacerbated by inadequate government action which has enabled attacks to continue unabated. Beyond intermittent words of condemnation, the government has failed to formulate effective strategies to address this violence.
"This has entrenched impunity and emboldened perpetrators even further, leading to a growth in vigilantism and periodic retaliatory violence, as communities conclude they can no longer rely on government for protection or justice.
"However, this retaliatory violence is by no means symmetrical—the first quarter of the year saw 106 attacks by the herder militia in central Nigeria, while seven attacks within that time frame on herders or communities claimed 61 lives.
“The number of attacks and casualties is staggering, and our government must recognise the considerable escalation in the regularity, scale and intensity of the attacks by Fulani militia on these communities in central Nigeria.
"We must commit to doing more to encourage and support the federal and state governments to provide protection to those who live in constant threat of attack by a force that constitutes a major threat to national security.
"As a matter of urgency, we must encourage the formulation of a comprehensive and holistic security strategy that adequately resources the security forces to address this and other sources of violence.
"Can the minister provide assurances of action? Will the UK government do all they can to work with the Government of Nigeria, encouraging them to be more proactive in ending this appalling violence and to protect these vulnerable communities living in constant fear for their lives?”
Other lawmakers spoke along the same line with Baroness Goldie summing up the debate and asking the Buhari government to halt the “deeply troubling situation."
She said “It goes without saying that the government regard the situation in Nigeria as both challenging and deeply disturbing. There are a number of issues at play which are having serious humanitarian consequences. The first are the actions of Boko Haram, of which many noble Lords will sadly be aware.
"Boko Haram claims to represent Islam, but its interpretation could not be further from the spirit of that peaceful religion. It attacks Nigerians of all faiths who do not subscribe to its extremist views. Its activity—the abduction of schoolgirls and the killings in which it has engaged—is appalling.
"Its actions have caused immense suffering in Nigeria and neighbouring countries in both Christian and Muslim communities. We assess that the majority of its victims are Muslim. Nearly 2.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
"Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa, remain a threat to regional security. Achieving a long-term solution requires non-military measures to improve security and enable economic growth.
“The other worrying issue to which many noble Lords referred and the noble Lord, Lord Alton, particularly covered in his speech, is the violence between farmers and herdsmen in various areas across Nigeria, and in the Middle Belt in particular, where attacks are carried out by herders on farmers, and vice versa.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) condemned the recent killings in Plateau and described it as“totally unacceptable.”
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