Nigeria: Soldiers Have Been Accomplices of the Islamists

When Fr. George Barde traveled to the Riyom Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Plateau State (center of the country) for the mass burial of victims of Fulani attacks, a tragedy opened the eyes of the inhabitants to a harsh reality: “that they are on their own, faced with the raging Islam jihad.”

It started when two young men who were keeping vigil at the wake were shot.

“The Fulanis were hiding in the bushes and they say the light from a fire that the boys who were keeping vigil had lit. From their hideout, they shot the boys. The one who was shot in the leg managed run to the settlement to relay the news that the people were under attack.” An ambulance was called to rush the two injured men to hospital. Seven men on the vehicle were then attacked and killed in what was reported as on of the most gruesome attacks in Riyom, happening on a day of a mass burial.

“When got the locals surprised the most was that when the gunmen fled after shooting the seven men, they went in the direction of a military post located just about two kilometers from the settlement that had been attacked. . . The ran towards the military post, passed a checkpoint, and disappeared,” explains Fr. Barde, the priest in charge of St. Laurence de Riyom, in the Archdiocese of Jos, adding that five of the seven men were members of his parish.

This is not the first time that residents have suspected the military of working together with the militias to attack the Christian community in Riyom. On several occasions, following horrific attacks, residents have found weapons, military belts and other items belonging to soldiers left behind.

“Locals here don’t trust the soldiers anymore. The soldiers have been sent here in large numbers, but when they come, the tell us openly that they have come to protect the minority group. Here the minority group is the Fulanis. When they say the they have come to protect the minority group, we know exactly what they mean,” continues Fr. Barde.

The priest believes that the Fulanis are supported by powerful figures, occupying high positions in the government, and that soldiers are being paid to carry out some of the killings targeting Christians.” Not less that 60 people have been killed in Riyom between April and June,” he said, adding that most of the dead had stayed put to fight the Fulanis.

“Locals sometimes stay behind to fight. But they are not as equipped as the Fulanis, who never seem to run out of ammunition. They are constantly being supplied with sophisticated weapons,” he explains. He claims that residents have seen, on countless occasions, aircraft dropping boxes of AK-47s to the Fulanis.

The authorities are no longer discreet about their support for the militias, says the priest, who recounts cases where Christian farmers have been deprived of justice while being harassed by Fulani herdsmen. “One case is that of my cook. A few days ago, the herders brought their cattle to her crops. She knew better than to complain because the herders had sticks and guns. Opening her mouth would have landed her in trouble.” 

According to the Catholic priest, aggrieved farmers should always cooperate with herders, whether or not they are satisfied with the way disputes are resolved. “Should a Christian farmer refuse to cooperate when the herders come to apologize, the herders come back at night and wipe out aggrieved Christian’s family,” he says.

Fr. Barde foresees a “total annihilation” of Christians in the entire Plateau State, and by extension, the whole country, if the killings by the Fulani continue in this way. He highlights the challenge of ending Christian persecution in Nigeria as the country’s leaders remain silent.

He explains that politicians have chosen to remain silent out of fear. “They don’t want to talk because everyone who wants to be in the government’s good books and to benefit economically must dance to the government’s tune,” he said, adding that Nigeria has “Fulanis in the government supporting armed Fulanis in the bush.”