The Federal Government of Nigeria and its security agencies as presently constituted have been accused of consistently telling “litany of lies, numbering over twenty, to cover up Herdsmen terror-jihadism in Nigeria or any part thereof and protect or shield its perpetrators; all in a bid to misinform and mislead Nigerians and members of the international community and intensify the anti-Christian butcheries.”

The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) made the allegation in a statement released on Sunday in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, in which it listed the purported lies.

“The most dangerous dimension to the ongoing jihadist atrocities in the country is the Government lies as well as elevation of Fulani jihadism to state cover and protection. These are directly or indirectly done by same Government in grave contravention of Sections 10 and 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and rights to freedom of religion and worship contained in various regional and international rights treaty laws acceded to by the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Intersociety said in the statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair; Amaka Damaris Onuoha, Esq.; Head, Campaign & Publicity; and Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law.

Part of the statement reads: “We hereby call on the present Government of Nigeria to do the needful by ‘courageously’ telling Nigerians that ‘it is no longer secret that it has since 2016 adopted radical Islamism as state religion in Nigeria or any part thereof including Kaduna State’. This will formally allow citizens of other religions including moderate Muslims to rise in defense of their faith and ethnic identities under the constitutional and lawful rights to life and self defense. It must be boldly pointed out that the very reason why citizens of non Muslim faith in the country allow themselves to be massacred unchallenged by Fulani and other Jihadists is because of their continuing belief that ‘the country’s security forces are secularly instituted to protect all citizens irrespective of their tribes or religions.

“As a matter of fact, the over twenty lies told by Government of Nigeria since 2016 when Herdsmen Jihadism began to earn state cover and protection, have reached a point of stagnancy and irreversibility. In other words, lies have been so told that ‘there seem to be no new lies to tell’. In the over twenty lies, first was that killings by Herdsmen jihadism were “herders-farmers clashes”; yet the Nigerian Government failed to answer the following questions: how many Muslim farmers have been killed by Fulani Jihadists in the Middle Belt and how many Mosques or Islamic learning centers have been razed or destroyed across the country?

“The Government of Nigeria moved to introduce other lies such as: “land disputes” and “killings coming from dislodged armed militias from Libya”. From these, Government lied further by claiming that “Fulani Herdsmen are not armed with rifles but machetes used in cutting foliages for their cows”. As if these were not enough, same Government lied and deceitfully introduced “RUGA” and “National Livestock Transformation Plan”; clandestinely designed to make the Jihadist Herdsmen bonafide indigenes or natives of all the localities in Nigeria. This is even when the landmass of three northern States of Niger, Borno and Katsina are much more than the landmass of the entire seventeen Southern States put together. In the Igbo Southeast, the landmass of Niger State alone is roughly three times more than that of the former which has only 29,525km2 as against latter’s over 76,000km2.

“Not done, the same Government lied and deceitfully directed the Nigerian Army to establish “(Fulani) Cattle Ranching throughout the country’s Army or Military formations”. Recent lies told by same present central Government and its security agencies include: “killings as a result revenge and reprisal over previous killings or those perpetrated by the criminal activities of criminal gangs”; “killings carried out by bandits, or kidnappers, or unknown gunmen, or cult gangs, or involving two Christian communities, or communal clash, or communal reprisals (etc)”.”

Intersociety listed the alleged lies, writing as follows:

“Statistical Instances of Lies Told By Government of Nigeria

“In Southern Kaduna, the Presidency lied to the effect that “the killings are reprisals and avenge killings and criminal activities by criminal gangs”. The Army said killings “are communal and not religious”; and the Police said “casualty statistics compiled and released by the victim communities are fake news”.

“Police Lies Over Recent Massacre of 14 In Kogi

“The Nigeria Police Force through its Kogi State CP, Mr. Ede Ayuba Ekpeji, had on 29th July 2020, via a press conference, lied when he claimed that “the fourteen persons killed in Agbadu Community, near Lokoja, were victims of Communal reprisal following a long standing dispute between two neighboring communities”. On the contrary, the 14 slain defenseless citizens were Christian worshippers belonging to the Bethel Parish of the Baptist Church located in Agbadu-Daruwana, near Lokoja in Kogi State. They were inside the Church when Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen attacked and hacked them to death in the early morning or 2.a.m. of 29 July.

“The Police claims were also strongly rubbished by the Christian (Int’l) Post report of 5th August 2020. Quoting Morning Star news, the internationally respected Christian media was quoted as follows: “According to Morning Star News, leaders of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship posted on the group’s Facebook page that the victims in the Agbadu-Daruwana attack are all congregants of Bethel Baptist Church, a member of the Lokoja Baptist Association who have since been buried,”

“ “The attack took place in a predominantly-Christian village, near other villages that have been victims of attacks”. “They invaded the village armed with guns and riding motorcycles,” the resident named Rachael Nuhu claimed. “They were speaking in the Fulani language as they attacked our people. This is not the first time they’re attacking our communities, as other villages around us had been attacked in a similar way by these herdsmen.” Intersociety had earlier investigated and debunked the Police claims in our ‘statistical data’ updated on 5th August 2020.

“Azikoro-Bayelsa Church Killings Likely The Handiwork of Jihadist Herdsmen:

“Again in strongly suspected Jihadist Herdsmen attack in Azikoro Community, Yanegoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the State Police Command through CP Mike Okoli, is most likely to have joined his other colleagues in deliberately misrepresenting facts and trivializing the jihadist atrocities of the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in the country. This, the CP most likely did by labeling the killing of four Christians including two Igbo Christians as “retaliation by cultists over partnership between Police and residents in successful war against them (cultists)”.

“The strongly suspected Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen had in the late night and early hours 5th and 6th of August 2020 invaded the Lion of Judea Fire Deliverance Ministry (Church) and its vicinity and shot dead four defenseless Christians, namely: Alfred Marcus, 30-year old, Gabriel Ejimofor, 45-year old, Uchechukwu Ejimofor (female), 38-year-old and one Imomotimi. The Jihadist attackers also burnt and destroyed part of the Church and its properties.

“Independently speaking and according to a verified Facebook post, “Fulani Herdsmen are all over the bush of Azikoro town. They come out every night in group to kill people. On the 2nd of August 2020, two vibrant youths were killed. We thought, as Police would always claim, that they were cultists or just cult victims. On 4th to 5th of August, three vigilante members were also killed and we thought same. Now on the night of August 5th into the early morning of its 6th, they invaded a church, called LION OF JUDAH FIRE DELIVERANCE MINISTRY and killed four persons including a man and his pregnant wife”. It is recalled that it was in the same Azikoro that a Police Sergeant, Charles Biweribo was gruesomely stabbed to death by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen on 10th March 2020.

“Names of 25 Out of 33 Christians Butchered By Jihadist Herdsmen in (Atyap) Zango-Kataf

“The following 25 out of 33 defenseless Christians butchered on Wednesday night (August 5) and early hours of Thursday (August 6) in five Atyap villages of Apiashyim, Kibori, Apiako, Atakmawei and Magamiya located in Zango-Kataf, Kaduna State are: Luka Duniya, Peter Reuben, Monday Daniel, Mary Ado, Ezekiel Ado, Monday Ado, Nma Julius, Akan Ayei, Israel Yakubu, Joel Ayuba, Alice Samuel, Ladi Mathias, Vincent Simon, Mba Aboi Tela, Yashim Joseph, Victor Usman, Ezekiel Duniya, Jude Dauda, John Achi, Nkoo Dabo, Denis Ayuba, Bege Joshua, Jerry Yakuba, Jessy Yakubu and Amako Tachio; totaling 25. Among the injured are: Tyusan Andrew and Jethro Joshua. A video clip showing some recovered bodies of the slain is attached.”

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