Report: Attackers Rename ‘Conquered’ Plateau State Villages after Gruesome Massacres

In a chilling report released on Wednesday, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) revealed that no fewer than 200 defenceless civilians fell victim to gunmen and extremists in January 2024 alone, with particularly gruesome attacks in Barkin Ladi and Bokkos areas of Plateau State.

The armed attackers not only claimed lives but also exhibited a disturbing culture of renaming villages they targeted. The report highlighted instances where villages like Rankum, Fass, Gwoi, Fit ma Bucher, Farandong Hai, and Horop Mushere in Bokkos were renamed Mahanga, Tafawa, Lugere, Magaraje, Josho, and Dajin Gwamna, respectively.

The report strongly urged the international community to intensify efforts against ethno-religious persecution in Nigeria. It called upon the Bola Tinubu-led government to respect religious freedom and human rights, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention.

The staggering toll of the attacks over the past 13 months included the burning down or destruction of more than 20,000 houses and the displacement of over 500 communities in the ten worst-hit states, including Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Niger, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, FCT, Kogi, and Enugu.

Of great concern is the apparent impunity with which the attackers operate, often unchecked by the Nigerian Security Forces, who are accused of turning a blind eye, except when it concerns the protection of cattle and herders.

The report outlined key recommendations, urging the immediate appointment of the UN Secretary General’s Special Emergency Envoy on Nigeria and a UN Security Council Resolution authorizing a comprehensive UN-backed Commission of Inquiry. This international investigation would scrutinize systematic ethno-religious attacks by government-protected Jihadists on Nigerians and their sacred places, homes, and livelihoods.

The call for a UN-backed Commission of Inquiry is not limited to the atrocities in Plateau State; it extends to the Old Eastern Nigeria, particularly Imo and other parts of the Southeast, where similar offenses have been reported.

Additionally, the report advocates for the appointment of Special Representatives on Nigeria by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. These representatives would investigate the situation of millions of Christian IDPs and other moderate Muslims, ensuring the fulfillment of the country’s international human rights and humanitarian obligations under the UN System.

The report concludes with a resounding call for the comprehensive, timely, and conclusive investigation outcomes to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for criminal proceedings against individual and group perpetrators, including state actors and non-state actors like MACBAN and FUNAM, who are implicated in these heinous crimes.