By TINA TIMOTHY

No fewer than 4, 020 defenseless Christians have been slaughtered and 2, 315 abducted in Nigeria by Islamic Jihadist terrorists, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has alleged.

Intersociety made the allegation in a statement it issued in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Monday, November 7, 2022, in Onitsha. In the statement signed by its International Principal Officers: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche (Esquire), Chidinma Udegbunam (Esquire) and Ndidiamaka Chinaza Bernard (Esquire), the group said the Jihadist terrorists included Fulani herdsmen, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), Boko Haram and Ansaru.

The statement reads: “The past 10 months of 2022 or January to October had seen no fewer than 4,020 defenseless Christians slaughtered in Nigeria by the country’s Islamic terror Jihadists, with the most atrocious and barbarous being the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their regionally assembled allied Islamic terror groups which jointly accounted for 2, 650 of the 4, 020 total Christian deaths. Other culpable Jihadist terror groups are ISWAP, Boko Haram and Ansaruwe accounting for 450 Christian deaths and the Jihadist Fulani (Zamfara) Bandits and their splinters responsible for 350 Christian deaths. The Nigerian Government friendly armed Jihadist groups particularly Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and Jihadist Fulani (Zamfara) Bandits had also during the period under review abducted not less than 2, 315 defenseless Christians; with 1, 401 abducted between January and June 2022 and 915 abducted between July and Oct 2022. Out of the 2,315 abducted Christians, 10 per cent or 231 have circumstantially been found to be incapable of returning alive to their families, having most likely been killed in captivity for their refusal to convert to Islam or inability to pay huge ransoms demanded. The 4,020 Christian deaths in 10 months further indicated 402 Christian deaths per month and 13 deaths per day. In the area of the 2,315 Christian abductions in 10 months of 2022, it amounted to 231 Christian abductions per month and approximately eight abductions per day.”

Intersociety had in January 2022 reported that 5,191 “defenseless Christians were hacked to death in 2021 and 3,800 others abducted by Nigeria’s Islamic Jihadists’” and others.

“The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) had in January 2022 disclosed that ‘5,191 defenseless Christians were hacked to death in 2021 and 3,800 others abducted by Nigeria’s Islamic Jihadists’. Intersociety also stated in its Special Report of 14th July 2022 that in January to June 2022, a period of first six months of the year, ‘no fewer than 2,543 Christians were hacked to death and 1,401 others abducted; out of which, 10 per cent or 140 captured Christians were not capable of returning alive." Intersociety had further disclosed in the Report that "out of the 2,543 total Christian deaths, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen accounted for 1,913. That is to say in the past four months of 2022 or July to October, additional 750 Christians were slaughtered by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen; bringing the total number of Christians killed in ten months of 2022 to 2,650. Our 2021 report also corroborated the Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List (WWL) on global killing of Christians’ index, which disclosed that “4,650 Christians were killed in Nigeria between Nov 2020 and Oct 2021, higher than 3,530 deaths recorded in the previous year (Oct 2019-Nov 2020) and 2500 abducted as against 900 abducted in the previous year,” the group stated.

Apart from Jihadist terrorists, Intersociety also accused the Nigerian Security forces, comprising the military, spy police and various police crack squads, of ethnically and religiously killing 550 unarmed Easterners in 10 months.

“Also involved in the massacre of defenseless Christians in the country since January to October 2022 are religiously radicalized and ethnically-biased Nigerian security forces (Military, spy Police and various Police crack squads). The Nigerian security forces under reference are responsible for shooting and killing of not less than 550 defenseless and unarmed Trado-Judeo-Christian citizens of Old Eastern Nigeria, especially defenseless members of the Igbo Ethnic Nationality; shot and killed and falsely, discriminatorily and hatefully labeled “IPOB members” or “parents or brothers or sisters or wives or in-laws or relatives or children of IPOB members”. Out of the 550 civilian deaths perpetrated by Nigeria’s security forces, 350 deaths were recorded between January and June 2022 and 200 others recorded from July to October 2022. The killings by Nigeria’s security forces within the period under review also involved wanton destruction of over 600 civilian homes and other nonviolent properties worth billions of naira or tens of millions of dollars. The 550 defenseless civilian lives and 600 homes and other properties were wantonly destroyed on the grounds of religion and ethnicity; which explains their addition in Intersociety’s list of persecuted Christians and their wantonly destroyed properties in Nigeria. The 550 deaths also arose from open and secret military and police killings. Open killings include targeted killing of unarmed and defenseless citizens at crime scenes or their vicinities and labeling them “ESN/IPOB/Unknown Gunmen killed during exchange of gunfire with security forces” as well as secret or custodial killing of unarmed citizens arrested alive and taken into custody or captivity where they are tortured to death or shot and killed in the hours of the blue law,” the group stated.

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