Abductions and torture of whole families go largely unchallenged as military pursue targets hundreds of miles away, finds four-year data project
Data scientists behind a four-year study, have revealed that Islamist extremists enjoy relative freedom to carry out atrocities against civilians in large regions of Nigeria, according to the latest report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) released on 29th August 2024.
The report, titled “Countering the Myth of Religious Indifference in Nigeria’s Terror” covers the four-year period of between October 2019 and September 2023. Specifically, it gave an insight into the nature of religion-based kidnappings and killings within the period of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s second four-year tenure and the first four months of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidency.
Researchers at ORFA recorded over 55,000 killings and mapped thousands of farm massacres and mass abductions in a four-year period, including in Nigeria’s fragile North Central Zone and Southern Kaduna.
According to the report, “a little-known terror group, the Fulani Ethnic Militia or FEM, commit mass killings hundreds of times a year through this region.
“Across the country, over 11,000 incidents of extreme violence took place during the data period, with more than 55,000 killings and 21,000 abductions. In the North Central zone alone, 3,007 incidents of extreme violence occurred. 2,010 incidents involved killings, 700 were abduction incidents, and 297 were a combination of killings and abductions.
According to the ORFA repor, “data mapping has revealed security operations are concentrated in the North-East and North-West of Nigeria, hundreds of miles from the scenes of FEM atrocities.”
The ORFA four years of large-scale data study on kidnappings and killings in Nigeria produced what the data scientists believe to be the most extensive research in this area to date, revealing trends and data patterns of significance to human rights investigators.
While 55,000+ killings are recorded in the data period October 2019 – September 2023, 60 data elements are logged for each violence incident.
ORFA in a statement made available to Prime Business Africa, said the study was externally examined, and its methodology published.
ORFA, a programme of the Foundation Platform for Social Transformation, a registered charity in Voorburg, The Netherlands, monitors the state of religious freedom, documents rights violations, and informs decision-makers through advocacy.
The report notes that Nigeria has continued to face a multifaceted security crisis marked by widespread violence, particularly against religious communities. “The most striking point is that the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) are killing Nigerian civilians unopposed. Mass killings, abductions and the torture of whole families go largely unchallenged as government forces pursue targets hundreds of miles away, according to the research findings.
The report also concludes that “Nigeria was a very violent and insecure place to live in the 4-year reporting period, at least in parts of the country. In total 55,910 people were killed in 9,970 attacks, while 21,621 people were abducted in 2,705 attacks. There was some overlap. ORFA documented 11,610 distinct attacks in which people were killed and/or abducted. Out of these, 8,905 involved killings without abductions; 1,065 involved both killings and abductions; 1,640 involved abductions without killings. This is an average of 8 attacks per day involving killings and/or abductions over a 4-year period. These numbers include attacks with civilians, Security Forces and/or Terror Groups killed and abducted.
“Across the North-Central zone and Southern Kaduna – where hundreds of FEM atrocities occur – there is markedly little security engagement at the scene of attacks.
‘Millions of people are left undefended,’ notes Frans Vierhout, Senior Analyst at The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa. ‘For years, we’ve heard of calls for help being ignored, as terrorists attack vulnerable communities. Now the data tells its own story.’
Key Findings On Fulani Ethnic Militia Killings In Nigeria
1.55,910 people were killed in the context of terror groups in Nigeria within four years.
2. Only a fraction of civilians were killed by ISIS or al-Qaeda affiliates. The little-known Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) killed at least 42% of all civilians, while Boko Haram and ISWAP (‘Islamic State West Africa Province) combined killed 10%.
3. The Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM), an ethno-religious terror group, are considered by many security experts to be a ‘twin’ of Islamists killing and kidnapping civilians in Northern Nigeria.
4. Land-based community attacks form the largest category of civilian killings (81%). FEM invade small Christian farming settlements to kill, rape, abduct and burn homes
5. 2.7 Christians were killed for every Muslim in the reporting period.
6. Islamist extremists kill both Muslims and Christians, although Christian death tolls are far higher.
7. Proportional loss: in states where attacks occur, proportional loss to Christian communities is exceptionally high. In terms of state populations, 6.5 times as many Christians are being murdered as Muslims.
Abduction: Hallmark Of Islamist Terror
The ORFA data project also reveals the widening reach of Islamist kidnapping in Nigeria, with incidents escalating through the four years: 2020 (1,665 people abducted) 2021 (5,907 people abducted) 2022 (7,705 people abducted) and 2023 (6,255 people abducted).
Christians are 1.4 times more likely to be abducted than Muslims. In terms of state populations, proportional loss of Christians is higher: around 5.1 Christians are abducted for every Muslim in terms of local populations.
‘Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) are targeting Christian populations, while Muslims also suffer severely at their hands,’ notes Rev. Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam, partner to ORFA and analyst.
‘Kidnappers work to Islamist goals. Where young women are kidnapped, tortured and sexually violated, hope for normal married life, and family, may vanish.’
At the end of 2023, the IDMC reported 3.3 million Nigerians were forcibly displaced from their homes and surviving in makeshift camps.
The authors of the ORFA data project urged the international community to examine the data and to do more to fully understand the scale of the challenge to Nigeria.
Credits: Prime Business Africa
