Over the Christmas weekend, at least 140 Nigerians were killed in the Christian-dominated Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi areas of Plateau.
THIS INDEED HAS BEEN A GORY CHRISTMAS FOR US”
— Caleb Mutfwang (@CalebMutfwang) December 26, 2023
We have had to celebrate Christmas with a heavy heart.
Unprovokeded attacks were unleashed on several of our communities.
Most of the communities attacked in Barkin Ladi share Borders with Bokkos Local Government.
We have not less… pic.twitter.com/6d0IXNZd2B
The AP News reported the violence randomly sprang up in 17 different towns.
Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang called the attacks “senseless and unprovoked” during a local television broadcast.
He also stated, “As I am talking to you, in Mangu local governorate alone, we buried 15 people. As of this morning, in Bokkos, we are counting not less than 100 corpses. I am yet to take stock of (the deaths in) Barkin Ladi.”
“It has been a very terrifying Christmas for us here in Plateau,” he added.
It is sad and disheartening that the season when peace, laughter, and Joy should be shared in our communities is being stained by the actions of the evil-doers.
— Caleb Mutfwang (@CalebMutfwang) December 26, 2023
Families that are meant to be celebrating are mourning. The state is mourning.
I spent my Christmas yesterday with… pic.twitter.com/chRzuxDdbu
There were 140 deaths confirmed by Amnesty International’s Nigeria office with fears that the death toll will rise as more missing people are found, per AP News
The survivors described a lack of support from law enforcement.
Sunday Dawum, Bokkos youth leader, said, “I called security but they never came. The ambush started 6 in the evening but security reached our place by 7 in the morning,” via AP News
Amnesty’s Nigeria director Isa Sanusi called out government leaders for failing to take “tangible action.”
He said, “Sometimes they claim to make arrests but there is no proof they have done so.”
“The brazen failure of the authorities to protect the people of Nigeria is gradually becoming the norm,” he concluded.
Attacks on Christians in the area are not uncommon.
Nigeria’s Intersociety Rule of Law, a pro-democracy organization, reported over 5,000 Christians were massacred for their religion in the nation in 2022.
The group also reported that within the first 100 days of 2023, over 1,000 Christians were killed for their religion in Nigeria.
According to Christianity Today, Nigeria is the seventh most dangerous place in the world for Christians to live, behind countries like Yemen, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
For years now, the PEW Research Center has found that Christians are the most persecuted religious group on the planet. In 2018 they faced more harassment than Muslims and Jewish people.
This was true for 2019, and 2020 and has continued in recent years.
The Heritage Foundation reported in 2020 that 11,500 Christians were murdered for their beliefs between 2015 and 2020 despite the fact that Christians make up about half of the nation’s population.
According to Genocide Watch, the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram has been gaining power since 2009 leading to a Genocide Emergency by July of 2021.
Genocide Watch stated, “Due to the continued systematic violence against civilians, which directly targets Christians and moderate Muslims, Genocide Watch considers Nigeria to be at Stage 9: Extermination and Stage 10: Denial.”
“The Nigerian government has not acknowledged these genocides and therefore is in denial, as are the US and other governments,” it concluded.