Hundreds of Christians were murdered in a series of attacks in Plateau state. NigeriaBetween the night of Saturday, December 24th and the morning of Monday, December 26th, hundreds more were injured.
Conflicts between the plateau's various communities are frequent and ongoing and the violence usually affects herders and farmers. The herdsmen are largely Muslim, while the farmers are predominantly Christian, which over the years has contributed to the attribution of an ethnoreligious motivation to this violence.
Religious tensions between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria have long existed. Government officials say they are the result of land competition, but there is more to it than a mere territorial dispute.
The President of the Plateau Youth Ethnic Nationalities Coalition, Paul Daketeemphasized that the murders had changed the celebrations Christmas in a time of mourning.
On Sunday 25th, the Governor of Plateau State said, Caleb MutfwangHe classified the action as “barbaric, brutal and unjustified”.
A Amnesty International told the Associated Press that most of the deaths occurred in the areas Bokkos It is Barkin Ladiwith a Christian majority, and called on the state to conduct an effective and impartial investigation to find out what motivated the attacks that left the country's Christian communities in mourning.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Nigeria's northwestern and central regions have long suffered from jihadist attacks by the Boko Haram group, mercenaries close to it Islamic State and criminal gangs who pillage villages, killing or kidnapping their residents.
Do Christian Lives Matter?
In 2023, the NGO Open Doors released a report stating that more Christians are killed in Nigeria each year than in all other countries combined.
For the United NationsO Doctors Without Borders and other international organizations did not mention the Christmas massacre in Nigeria.
In France, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a fourline press release about the incidents.
The President of Reconquête (French rightwing party), Eric Zemmourhe has a long comment on your X profile:
“More than 130 Christians were massacred in 20 coordinated attacks on villages on Christmas Eve in Nigeria by mercenary groups linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State. Among the victims were numerous women, children and Protestant pastors and their families. They were preparing for the Christmas celebrations.
The most extraordinary thing is that there is nothing extraordinary about this horror: more than 5,000 Nigerian Christians were murdered for their faith in 2022 and thousands of Nigerian Christian women were raped and kidnapped.
Never in all of human history has the number of Christians persecuted worldwide been so high, and no other religion is being persecuted so severely today. The West’s silence on this planetary catastrophe is deafening.”
The President of Hungary, Katalin NovakAlso commented on the attack on his X profile: “My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. These massacres must end. Persecuted Christians need help.”
Christmas massacre
Nigeria is a country made up of almost equal numbers of Muslims and Christians. The northern part of the country is predominantly Islamic and twelve of its states have adopted Sharia law. The southern part of Nigeria is almost entirely Christian.
In states such as Jos, Plateau and Kaduna, numerous violent attacks on Christians, including murder, torture, rape and kidnapping, occur almost daily. Attacks intensify at Christmas time.
At Christmas last year, shortly before the service began Angwan Aku (Kaduna), more than 40 Christians were murdered and another 58 kidnapped. Prior to this day, other Nigerian Christians were murdered and kidnapped on December 18 and 23 in several other villages such as Kagoro and Malagum (also in Kaduna State).
In many African countries, such as Nigeria, too Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Christians are severely persecuted. Many are internally displaced, kidnapped and even murdered because of their religious beliefs. However, this problem is hardly discussed in the major Western media.