Nigeria | July 12, 2024
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As reported by Choice Reporters on 9 June 2022, an armed group raided villages on 5 June in Kajuru Local Government Area, southern Kaduna. Houses were burnt down and 32 civilians were killed. According to regional expert, Elizabeth Kendal, the Fulani fighters arrived on around 150 motorcycles (RLPB 649, 15 June 2022).
The Kaduna State Government stated in its KDSG Security Update issued on 9 June 2022 (published in Premium Times, 9 June 2022), that a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter had been employed at one location (Ungwan Maikori) to engage the raiders. However, a village defense force led by ECWA Pastor Denis Sani claimed that the helicopter was clearly assisting the attackers, whom they identified as ‘armed Fulani herdsmen’ (Nairaland, 14 June 2022).
Frans Veerman, Managing Director of World Watch Research (WWR), comments: “There are three typical ways that violence is being used against the civilian population, particularly against Christians in Nigeria. These are i) attacks against individual people, ii) attacks against churches, and iii) attacks against whole communities. In May, there was the brutal killing of the Christian student, Deborah Yakubu, in Sokoto. In June, there was the Pentecost Sunday church massacre in Ondo State. This attack on the community in southern Kaduna is an example of the third variant.”
Frans Veerman continues: “The differing narratives about the deployment of the NAF helicopter are telling and would seem to suggest that – at least in part – the security forces and state government are siding with the perpetrators. It also adds weight to those arguing that President Buhari ‘is actively advancing the Islamization and Fulanization of Nigeria’ (Kendal, RLPB 649, 16 June 2022).”
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