By TINA TIMOTHY

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has rated Nigeria as the world’s second deadliest genocide country surpassed only by “the battered State of Syria.”

Intersociety, in its International Investigative Report, on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, compiled by its board chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi and other principal officers, alleged that over 150,000 civilians have been killed since 2009, a crime perpetrated on the grounds of ethnicity and religion.

“Nigeria has become the second deadliest Genocide-Country in the world accounting for more than 150,000 religiously motivated defenseless civilian deaths since 2009 (fifteen years of Boko Haram Jihadist Uprising in Nigeria). The Nigeria’s alarming death toll is only surpassed by the battered State of Syria which has been embroiled in devastating civil war since 2011 with civilian deaths of 306,000 out of about 21.5m citizens. The Nigerian death toll would have been more than five times higher than those of Syria if the country had engaged in open genocidal warfare-with over 200m citizens. The massacre of Christians in Nigeria is now dubbed “Silent Genocide” or “Jihadist Genocide of Christians”. Killings and associated grisly and egregious violence against persons or groups and properties of international coloration; perpetrated on the grounds of ethnicity and religion accounted for over 150,000 defenseless civilian deaths since 2009, leading to burning down or wanton destruction of tens of thousands of civilian dwelling houses, over 18,500 Sacred Places of Christian Worship, 1000 Traditional Religious Sanctuaries and 2,500 Christian/Traditional Learning Centers during which over 59,000 square kilometers of landmass (twice the size of South-East Nigeria) ancestrally belonging to indigenous Christians and non Muslim others were seized and their owners uprooted and sacked in at least ten States. The over 150,000 religiously related deaths in Nigeria in fifteen years had included ‘direct deaths’ of at least 100,000 and ‘indirect deaths’ of 50,000. Among the over 50,000 ‘indirect deaths’ were those abducted and killed in captivity by various Islamic Jihadists; classified as “victims of the enforced disappearances”. In Law and Criminology, ‘Enforced Disappearances’ and ‘Torture’ have no excuses or exonerative defenses at perpetration and can be perpetrated by state actors or non state actors or someone or individuals sanctioned by a state actor or state actors,” Intersociety said.

The rights group further accused Islamic Jihadists of abduction of defenseless Christians, destruction of churches and Christian schools, adding that over 30,000 abducted never returned alive till date.

“According to available local and international statistics, “Boko Haram and allied others have been responsible for abduction and disappearance of at least 22,500 mainly defenseless Christians between 2009 and 2014”; during which “they also wantonly destroyed or burned down 13,000 churches and 1500 Christian schools, directly killed between 11,500 and 12,500 Christians and forced over 1.3m others to flee to avoid being hacked to death or forcefully converted to Islam” (Ms. Anne Mulder and Open Doors USA: 2015). Between 2016 and 2023; a period of eight years, more than 30,000 defenseless civilians were abducted by Islamic Jihadists and, some say, ‘Islamic-inspired’ security forces in Nigeria. The abducted over 30,000 were never returned alive till date. In all, Christians accounted for roughly 100,000 of the ‘direct deaths’ and ‘indirect deaths’ of the over 50,000 while moderate Muslims accounted for about 46,000 and members of other religions accounted for the remaining 4,000 defenseless civilian deaths,” the report said.

In a similar vein, while referring to a report by the International Alliance against Genocide, Intersociety also said that Nigeria, among other countries, is listed among Fourteen Genocides’ (ongoing) and ‘Six Warning Genocides’ in the world.

The report continues: “According to ‘the International Alliance against Genocide’, of which Intersociety is a member since 2020, “today’s world is gripped and devastated by ’Fourteen Genocides’ (ongoing) and ‘Six Warning Genocides’ and they include Renewed Genocide in Darfur and Sudan, Jihadist Genocide of Christians in Nigeria, Russian Genocide in Ukraine, Slow Genocide of Hazara Shias in Afghanistan, Assad Regime and Turkish Genocides in Syria, Genocide in North Korea, Genocides of ethnic minorities in Myanmar, the Genocide of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and India, Chinese Genocide of Uyghur Muslims, Hamas Genocide of Israelis; War Crimes in Gaza, Genocide in Ethiopia, Genocide in Democratic Republic of Congo and Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan-Armenia/Artsakh). On the other hand, the ‘Seven Warning Genocides’ include Warning Genocide over Azerbaijani aggression in Syunik Province in the Republic of Armenia and Warning Genocides in India, Pakistan and Iran and the Iranian-backed terrorism by Houthis in Yemen; and Saudi, UAE, and Qatar support for Wahhabi jihadist terrorism.”

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