Implications of Genocide In Nigeria For The International Community

TITLE:  Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter:  Genocide in Nigeria and the Implications for the International Community

AUTHORS: International Committee on Nigeria

 International Organization for Peace Building and Social     Justice

NO OF PAGES: 311

REVIEWER: Emmanuel Udom

PRICE: Not stated

Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter: Genocide in Nigeria and the implications for the International Community is a 311-page book compiled by: Richard Ikiebe , (PSI), Stephen Enada, (ICON), Kyle D Abts, (ICON), Ayo Adedoyin, ( PSJ-UK), Dr Obadiah Malaifa, (PSI) and Ann Buschhans.

The book is jointly sponsored by International Committee on Nigeria and International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice.

There are 11 chapters in the volume: Our Asks & Expectations, Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria, Genocide is Loading, Maps & Charts: 20 Years of Genocide and Testimony of Victims.

Other chapters are: Incident Reports Taraba, Incident Report Benue and International Recognition: USA, UK and Appendix Data & Incident Reports.

The book traces the history of insurgency in Nigeria. It also paints a gory picture of how insurgents are systematically decimating the Christian community.

Sources of the various information used in the book give it so much credibility. It puts to rest arguments about the motive of the insurgents and gives a clear picture that they are on the move to entrench Islam in the country.

Frank R Wolf, Member of US Congress, 1981-2014,( retired), in his letter to Michael Pompeo, US Secretary of State, published in the collection notes that genocide is taking place in Nigeria. He writes that “Boko Haram has killed over 27,000 civilians, more than ISIS killed in Iraq and Syria, combined”.

Wolf’s letter, corroborates Grey Stanton’s observation in a reproduced article from Genocide Watch. Stanton writes that “Boko Haram is committing genocide against Christians and against humanity as members of the terror group, kidnap girls to become their sex slaves, while boys kidnapped, are turn into child soldiers”.

In the introductory remarks, the Wolf writes that Boko Haram is the world’s third most dangerous terror group, after Afghanistan and Iraq, as it has killed over 27,000 killed by Boko Haram since it came into existence in 2002.

The first chapter, Our Asks & Expectations paints the picture of a Nigeria that is in dire straight. It contains an 11-point demand which includes the request that culprits of crimes in Nigeria should be brought to book and that government should suspend with immediate effect the decision to give free visa to aliens.

They ask for a review of our constitution so as to address the many inconsistencies, inequalities, and jurisprudential mischiefs contained in it. 

The book called on Nigeria government to set up a communication agency to engage the public through the press and also ensure that international observers are deployed to hotspots in the country.

For AU, EU, UN and Commonwealth, it is expected that these foreign agencies should build a multi-lateral organization to ensure the realization of the expectations of the authors of this book as well as that of the international community.

Chapter 2: Legal Brief-Genocide in Nigeria  

Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, and Co, a legal practitioner and Corporate Consultant firm discloses in this chapter that since Boko Haram came into existence in 2002, over 100 churches have been burned down in Taraba state alone, while Christians who refused to convert to Islam were either killed, raped or tortured.

He stated that it was through British proclamation that Nigeria came into existence, not by voluntary union.

The original northerners according to him are: Hausa, Kanuri, Balawa, Ngizim, Mangas, Buduma, and Kotoko, until 1808 when Usman Dan Fodio, in a Jihad war overrun Gobir, captured and executed the King of the place and established the Sokoto Caliphate.

“Fodio attempted to penetrate south-west, south-east and south-south, but was resisted in some regions and succeeded in others,” the book states.

The chapter reveals further that Boko Haram began in 2002 at Mohammadu Ndimi Mosque in Maiduguri, Bornu State, while Sheikh Jafaar Adam, a moderate Islamic cleric preached on the need for tolerance and love.

Possibly uncomfortable with the sermon, Mohammed Yusuf, a radical Moslem clashed with Adam, break-away, built a mosque in the same Bornu in 2002 and began his radicalization mission.

Though Yusuf was a beneficiary of western education, he began a fight to crush western education and enthrone Islam in Nigeria.

The radical Boko Haram leader was however killed when members of his terror organization clashed with soldiers in 2009 and was immediately replaced with Abubakar Shekau.

Boko Haram, classified as a terror organization has links in 15 countries in west and central Africa, using similar modus operandi in its operations like: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, Islamic State in West Africa, ISWA, Al-Queda, Fulani Herder Militants, etc.

The book notes that over 11,500 Christians have been killed on average while over 1.3 million people mostly Christians from the predominantly Christian states in the north displaced. More than 13,000 churches were forced to close down as noted in the book.

Chapter 3: Genocide is Loading

Dr Gregory H Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, outlined 10 stages of genocide. Visit: www.genocide,com.

Stanton argued that violence in Nigeria is well planned and undisputedly one-sided with armed Fulani members launching deadly raids on unarmed farming communities of predominantly Christians with AK 47s, machine guns and grenades.

He called on ICC to hold Nigeria government officials, who refuse to provide protection for their communities accountable, while Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State should be investigated for attempting to appease, rather than persecute the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Chapter 4: Maps and Charts: 20 Years of Slaughter

The book notes that for 20 years, Nigeria has been experiencing a silent slaughter genocide. Data, maps, statistics, etc, from ACLEdata.com, CFR.org and study of terrorism and responses from START.umd.edu/gtd are used to corroborate this fact.

The findings however revealed that Boko Haram with supports from other terror groups between January 2000 to January 2020, killed 116,265 people across 15 countries in west and central Africa.

In Nigeria, the statistics of fatalities by Fulani militant herdsmen stood at 18,834 in 12 northern states, while nationwide was 40,602 with Bornu State coming top with 28,051 and Akwa Ibom State last with three.

Chapter 5: Testimony of Victims

This chapter chronicles various cases of insurgency and how people were kidnapped. For example, it notes that on February 19, 2018, 111 school girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in Dapahi, Yobe State. Reports revealed that 105 of the girls were set free, one killed while the rest are still in captivity.

April 14, 2014, 276 schoolgirls were also kidnapped. 57 escaped, 100 were released, while over 100 of them are still in Boko Haram captivity.

Leah Sharibu, then 14-year-old, was among the girls kidnapped. Till date, she is still in Boko Haram den for refusing to dump Christianity for Islam.

Some of the harrowing statistics of the massacre of civilians by Boko Haram around terror-prone northern states are in this chapter.

Chapter 6: Incident Reports Benue State

The chapter contains a report by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom. There are data evidence to illustrate how between 2013 to 2014, Fulani herdsmen destroyed 149 schools and displaced 49percent of the entire labour force in the state.

Chapter 7: Recognition: the United States of America and United Kingdom  

In this section of the book are letters from the international community and the various interventions from the globe. It notes the letter written on October 23, 2019, by Congress of the United States of America to President Muhammed Buhari, on the urgent need to use his full power to ensure the release of Leah Sharibu, who was kidnapped alongside 104 schoolgirls in February 19, 2018.

Jeremy Hunt, a former Secretary of States for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs office in the UK in his piece as published in this chapter calls on Nigeria to tackle problems of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution.