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Tag: conflict

  • This is genocide not farmer/herder conflict, review Plateau security template”-Women beg TInubu

    This is genocide not farmer/herder conflict, review Plateau security template”-Women beg TInubu

    Plateau State woke up to another gory tale of mindless killings when Riyom, once again, came under attack from marauding Fulani bandits within two weeks.

    Apparently in pains, six women organisations in Plateau in a jointly signed statement have appealed to President Bola TInubu to look beyond the farmer herder conflict and review the security template of Plateau while cataloguing series of killings.

    This time, it was Binda, in Ta-Hoss village that bore the brunt of this unending, unprovoked evil being metted on Plateau communities.

    At the last count, 27 people reportedly died following the attack on that community despite the presence of security personnel and armoured military assets.

    As mothers and daughters of the land, we are shedding unseen tears and no words available to us can describe the feeling arising from these murders and destruction of entire communities which have continued in defiance of reason and logic.

    As women and mothers, we are especially traumatised by the constant flow of the blood of our people.

    The sight of butchered babies, their mothers, and breadwiners keeps our hearts pounding. Burnt homesteads and outright destruction of livelihoods are horrible and heartbreaking sights.

    We have watched with trepidation how these attacks have become repetitive without corresponding government intervention. We are disturbed that the response has always been merely reactionary, sadly contained in condolence visits and palliatives, without as much as a decisive final solution.

    We join the people of Riyom and, indeed, Plateau State at large, to call on the authorities to respond to this matter with the sincerity and urgency that it deserves.

    It is common knowledge that the unprovoked violence visited on our people can no longer be described in simplistic and dishonest statements as herder/farmer crisis. It has become apparent that this is an organised genocidal campaign against our people and land that should be met with comparable force.

    We join other well-meaning Nigerians to call on the Federal Government to review the security template for Plateau State in line with what is required for our state’s peculiar security challenge.
    That security personnel have often been suspected of collaboration with these attackers demands urgent attention and not what appears as a nonchallant attitude.

    We commend His Excellency,Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang for his on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the attacked community, which revealed a troubling lack of accountability on the part of the security personnel. We are worried that posers raised by the Governor during the visit were not satisfactorily responded to by the leadership of the sector command. This, together with eyewitness accounts suggesting indifference or active collaboration by the personnel calls for thorough investigation and accompanying tough sanctions where necessary.

    We appreciate the Governor for his inspirational leadership,and for his assurance that Riyom, like the rest of Plateau State,will not fall.

    In the same manner, we thank all concerned Nigerians for their support and prominent sons of Plateau like the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Nentawe Goshwe, for identifying and standing with the people of Riyom as a brother and also representing the Federal Government. His visit is a testament to the fact that what affects any Plateau person affects all.

    We also acknowledge the motherly sensitivity, empathy, and compassionate love demonstrated
    by the visits and donations by the mother of the nation, First Lady Sen.Oluremi Tinubu, in the wake of recent killings in the state.

    We appeal to our mother and First Lady Ngo Oluremi Tinubi to use her voice and strategic position to contribute to bringing an end to the killings of our innocent children, sons, daughters, husbands and wives.

    We appeal that the same prompt and compassionate spirit be deployed by the Federal Government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to drive the process for an end to the Plateau attacks.

    We demand security for our land and people and justice for victims of these atrocities.
    We demand action. Enough of all the words and empty promises.

    JOINTLY SIGNED BY:
    NGO ABIGAIL BANGA (PRESIDENT, BEROM WOMEN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, BWEDA),
    NGO DR. SARAH RENG OCHEKPE, ASSOCIATION OF BEHWONG BEROM WENENG YERE DYUK(BWYD),
    NGO SUGA FLORENCE JAMBOL,
    NGO DR. KACHOLLOM GANG,
    NGO VERONICA KANENG GUMUT, BWYD &
    NGO PROF. CHRISTY GAVOU BEST, BWYD, FOR AND ON BEHALF OF BEROM WOMEN ASSOCIATIONS.

  • PRESS STATEMENT *THIS IS GENOCIDE, NOT FARMER/HERDER CONFLICT*

    PRESS STATEMENT *THIS IS GENOCIDE, NOT FARMER/HERDER CONFLICT*

    On Tuesday,July 15,2025,Plateau State woke up to another gory tale of mindless killings when Riyom, once again, came under attack from marauding Fulani bandits. This time, it was Binda, in Ta-Hoss village that bore the brunt of this unending, unprovoked evil being metted on Plateau communities.

    At the last count, 27 people reportedly died following the attack on that community despite the presence of security personnel and armoured military assets.

    As mothers and daughters of the land, we are shedding unseen tears and no words available to us can describe the feeling arising from these murders and destruction of entire communities which have continued in defiance of reason and logic.

    As women and mothers, we are especially traumatised by the constant flow of the blood of our people. The sight of butchered babies, their mothers, and breadwiners keeps our hearts pounding. Burnt homesteads and outright destruction of livelihoods are horrible and heartbreaking sights.

    We have watched with trepidation how these attacks have become repetitive without corresponding government intervention. We are disturbed that the response has always been merely reactionary, sadly contained in condolence visits and palliatives, without as much as a decisive final solution.

    We join the people of Riyom and, indeed, Plateau State at large, to call on the authorities to respond to this matter with the sincerity and urgency that it deserves.

    It is common knowledge that the unprovoked violence visited on our people can no longer be described in simplistic and dishonest statements as herder/farmer crisis. It has become apparent that this is an organised genocidal campaign against our people and land that should be met with comparable force.

    We join other well-meaning Nigerians to call on the Federal Government to review the security template for Plateau State in line with what is required for our state’s peculiar security challenge.
    That security personnel have often been suspected of collaboration with these attackers demands urgent attention and not what appears as a nonchallant attitude.

    We commend His Excellency,Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang for his on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the attacked community, which revealed a troubling lack of accountability on the part of the security personnel. We are worried that posers raised by the Governor during the visit were not satisfactorily responded to by the leadership of the sector command. This, together with eyewitness accounts suggesting indifference or active collaboration by the personnel calls for thorough investigation and accompanying tough sanctions where necessary.

    We appreciate the Governor for his inspirational leadership,and for his assurance that Riyom, like the rest of Plateau State,will not fall.

    In the same manner, we thank all concerned Nigerians for their support and prominent sons of Plateau like the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Nentawe Goshwe, for identifying and standing with the people of Riyom as a brother and also representing the Federal Government. His visit is a testament to the fact that what affects any Plateau person affects all.

    We also acknowledge the motherly sensitivity, empathy, and compassionate love demonstrated
    by the visits and donations by the mother of the nation, First Lady Sen.Oluremi Tinubu, in the wake of recent killings in the state.

    We appeal to our mother and First Lady Ngo Oluremi Tinubi to use her voice and strategic position to contribute to bringing an end to the killings of our innocent children, sons, daughters, husbands and wives.

    We appeal that the same prompt and compassionate spirit be deployed by the Federal Government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to drive the process for an end to the Plateau attacks.

    We demand security for our land and people and justice for victims of these atrocities.
    We demand action. Enough of all the words and empty promises.

    JOINTLY SIGNED BY:
    NGO ABIGAIL BANGA (PRESIDENT, BEROM WOMEN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, BWEDA),
    NGO DR. SARAH RENG OCHEKPE, ASSOCIATION OF BEHWONG BEROM WENENG YERE DYUK(BWYD),
    NGO SUGA FLORENCE JAMBOL,
    NGO DR. KACHOLLOM GANG,
    NGO VERONICA KANENG GUMUT, BWYD &
    NGO PROF. CHRISTY GAVOU BEST, BWYD, FOR AND ON BEHALF OF BEROM WOMEN ASSOCIATIONS.

  • 10 years on, Boko Haram conflict causing misery to millions in Nigeria – NRC

    Ten years since the beginning of a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria, the living conditions for displaced people are continuing to deteriorate at an alarming rate due to inadequate and overcrowded facilities.
    The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) calls for increased efforts to improve their living conditions and prevent an imminent cholera outbreak.
    Ten years after the first attack launched by the armed group Boko Haram, more than two million people remain displaced from homes in northeast Nigeria, the highest number of any time over the last decade.
    “Every week, people continue to flee violence and insecurity in northeast Nigeria. Many settle along the roadside or on empty strips of land, devoid of proper sanitation and water points,” says Eric Batonon, Country Director at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Nigeria.
    Hundreds of thousands of people are living in overcrowded displacement sites far below international minimum standards and without proper access to latrines and clean water. Some have put up shelters made of wooden sticks and pieces of ripped fabric. These improvised shelters provide no protection against wind or rain and offer almost no privacy or security. Many don’t even have a door – leaving women, men and children highly vulnerable to intrusions and attacks.
    More than 180,000 people are currently in need of shelter in Borno State with many sleeping in the open or in deplorable makeshift homes. As the rainy seasons gets underway, fears of another deadly outbreak of cholera are looming. Last year, 10,000 cholera cases were confirmed along with 175 recorded deaths, although the real figure is likely to have been much higher.
    “People in Nigeria need safe pathways back to their homes and much better living conditions in the meantime. Displacement sites are dangerous, chaotic and entirely unsuitable for children. It is critical to decongest these overcrowded sites, provide people that have been forced to flee with safe, dignified facilities and prevent another deadly cholera outbreak,” Batonon adds.
    The NRC is calling on donor countries to increase their financial support for relief to families trying desperately to survive in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
    “Ten years on, it is harrowing to see families still crowding into make-shift shelters with inadequate drainage systems to remove rain water. The global humanitarian community, local and national authorities have to do much more and much better to improve the lives of these people,” says Batonon before concluding: “The world needs to scale up the relief work and send a message of hope to the more than seven million people in need of humanitarian assistance in northeast Nigeria. After a decade of conflict, we need to show them that they have not been forgotten.”
    Facts and Figures:
    • July 26, 2019, marks ten years since the first attack was launched by Boko Haram.
    • 1.8 million Nigerians are currently displaced across the three states that form Northeastern Nigeria, and another 226,000 across the border in Cameroon.
    • More than 7.1 million people rely on humanitarian assistance to survive in northeast Nigeria.
    • Nearly 2 million people are displaced in north-eastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
    • 80 per cent of displaced persons are located in Borno state.
    • The violence and suffering in Borno State, the main region impacted by the insurgency, made international headlines in April 2014 when 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in the town of Chibok and resulted in the #BringBackOurGirls social media movement. Since then, many more women children have been kidnapped.
    • One-in-four internally displaced persons are under the age of five.
    • 80 per cent of displaced persons in northeast Nigeria are women and children.
    • Since January, some 134,000 people have been forced from their homes.
    • As of July 18, less than 35 per cent of the Humanitarian Response Plan for northeast Nigeria was funded.
    • Funding for emergency shelter is at a severely low 3.1 per cent while water and sanitation stands at 5.1 per cent.

  • World Food Programme Applauds UN Security Council For Tackling Link Between Conflict And Hunger

    The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) today hailed the UN Security Council for its leadership in adopting a resolution that for the first time paves the way to address conflict-induced hunger around the world.

    “Today’s Security Council vote is a huge step forward toward breaking the cycle of conflict and hunger that stands in the way of prosperity and peace for hundreds of millions of people,” says David Beasley. “The Security Council recognizes that food security is an essential factor in bringing about peace and security, and we look forward to future opportunities within the Security Council to address food insecurity’s role both as a result and driver of conflicts worldwide.”

    Around the world, 60 percent of the 815 million chronically hungry people live in a conflict zone; that’s 489 million people suffering man-made, preventable hunger. Children pay an especially horrible price – an estimated 122 million of the 155 million stunted children in the world live in countries affected by conflict.

    Over the past two years, the number of people with acute food insecurity has risen 55 percent, from 80 million to 124 million, according to the latest Global Food Crises Report, released in March. Conflict and insecurity were the primary drivers of hunger for 74 million of those with acute food insecurity – which is when hunger is so severe it poses an immediate threat to lives or livelihoods.

    “In every conflict zone I have visited, the people I talk to ask for peace as often as they ask for help getting food,” Beasley says. “For decades, we’ve made progress against hunger, but now we’re going backwards, and it’s nearly all because people won’t stop shooting at each other. We need global leaders to build on today’s Security Council actions to work with us to help end hunger and create peace, stability and lasting development in the regions where so many people are suffering.”

    The resolution, officially #2018-492, emphasizes “deep concern that ongoing armed conflicts and violence have devastating humanitarian consequences, often hindering an effective humanitarian response, and are therefore a major cause of the current risk of famine.”

    The resolution appeals to all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including taking care to spare materials needed for producing and distributing food, such as farms, markets, mills and water systems. It strongly condemns starving civilians as a method of warfare, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law and which “may constitute a war crime.”

    The resolution asks the Secretary-General to continue providing information on the risk of famine and food insecurity in countries with armed conflict as part of his regular comprehensive reporting on country-specific situations.

    Championed by a core group consisting of Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Sweden, the resolution was supported unanimously by the SC’s 15 members. Beasley especially thanked the governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland, which led a high-profile UN discussion series on this issue over the past year.

  • Nigeria urges peaceful resolution of Israel-Palestinian conflict

    Nigeria has called for the peaceful resolution of the protracted conflicts between Israel and Palestinian, saying it is greatly concerned about the situation in many parts of the Middle East.

    Amb. Olukunle Bamgbose, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered Nigeria’s statement at the UN General Assembly ‘Debate on Question of Palestine and the Situation in the Middle East.’

    Bamgbose said: “Nigeria calls on all parties to make genuine efforts to find peaceful solutions and to cooperate closely with the UN and its relevant agencies accompanying them to realise this objective.

    “As the international community continues to seek avenues to advance peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question, international efforts remain focused on paving the way for Israel and Palestine to return to meaningful negotiations.

    “It is a situation that has reverberation around the region and even beyond.

    “Nigeria believes that achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the question of Palestine is imperative for the attainment of durable peace and stability in the Middle East”.

    Nigeria expressed pleasure at the statement by the Quartet envoys of Sept. 28, 2017, which welcomed the efforts of the Palestinians to create the conditions for the Palestinian Authority to assume its responsibilities in Gaza.

    The Quartet stressed the importance of close and continuing coordination of all efforts to achieve the common goal of the two-state solution in line with UN resolutions and international laws.

    “We also acknowledge the outcome of the Paris Conference held on Jan. 15, 2017, at which 70 countries and international organisations reaffirmed their support for the two-state solution.”

    Nigeria said the international community must remain undaunted in its commitment towards finding lasting and sustainable solutions as the conflict continued to pose a threat to international peace and security.

    The country also urged all parties to show more commitment to making peace a reality.

    Nigeria warned that “all unilateral actions that have turned hope into confrontation, including settlement activities, violence and inciting violence must stop”.

    “Nigeria would like to see a genuine effort on the part of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to the negotiating table.

    “Obviously, the current situation does not offer a sustainable solution to the Question of Palestine. Indeed, it is creating despair among the people of Palestine and causing anxiety among the people of Israel.

    “We believe that there are numerous specific actions that are necessary to foster mutual respect and compromise, build confidence and pave the way for the realisation of the two-state solution.

    “In this regard, Nigeria encourages Israel to take concrete measures to freeze all settlement-related activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    “On their part, Palestinian leaders must also signal their readiness to return to the negotiating table by making enhanced efforts to forge unity and deal with militancy and other internal security challenges.”

    Nigeria said it was beyond doubt that neither military might nor militancy would resolve the protracted conflict.

    “We encourage both sides to take concrete steps to return to negotiations on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, the Quartet road map, the Madrid principles, the Arab Peace Initiative and the relevant agreements between them.

    “Nigeria supports the efforts of the international community towards establishing an environment conducive to a return to meaningful negotiations to end the occupation and resolve the long-running conflict.”

    TheNewsGuru reports that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has further heightened tensions between the two nations and in the Middle East.