Written evidence from Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (FRB0015)

Submission to Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry from Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)

Human rights: Freedom of religion and belief, and human rights defenders inquiry

Summary

HART is a UK-based NGO. We work through local partners in Nigeria to provide: (a) aid to those who suffer oppression and persecution; and (b) advocacy to reflect the priorities of local communities.

While we are encouraged by the FCO’s general commitment to strengthen its support for human rights programmes overseas, we share widespread concerns about its continuing ‘faith blind’ policy in Nigeria. For as long as the FCO dismiss the religio-ideological aspects of persecution, the UK will be ineffective in supporting FORB and the work of human rights defenders – a point emphasised on pages 123 and 124 of the Bishop of Truro’s report.

Escalation of conflict in Nigeria

Ethnic and religious animosity has fuelled conflicts in Nigeria for decades. The existence of radical Islamist sects, for example, has been a source of considerable tension since the country gained independence in 1960. The recent reign of terror inflicted by Boko Haram has been well documented. Less well known is the escalation of attacks by Fulani militia against predominantly-Christian communities in the northern and middle-belt regions.

The former head of the country’s army recently described atrocities by Boko Haram and Fulani militia as a genocide, with 1.8 million displaced persons, 5,000 widows, 15,000 orphans, and more than 200 desecrated churches and chapels.

Strategic land grabbing and the permanent displacement of Christian communities

The Fulani are a semi-nomadic ethnic group of about 20 million people across 20 west and central African countries. Since time immemorial, they have driven their herds of cattle through other people’s lands, causing tensions and some violence though, traditionally, they have moved on.

In the last four-to-five years, increasing numbers of Fulani have adopted a strategic ‘land grabbing’ policy. They attack villages, kill local people, destroy homes, drive villagers off their lands and settle in their place. While tensions between farmers and herders date back centuries, recent Fulani attacks suggest a deeply worrying trend: their military capability and ideological fervour are increasing.

Survivor testimonies

• “They shot Sarah’s husband and children and so she begged them to kill her too, but they refused, saying that they wanted her to cry and bear the pain.” (Deaconess Susan Essam, Jos)

• “My sister was raped and her wrists cut off before she was shot through the heart. They took my brother, his wife and all their six children, tied and slaughtered them like animals.” (Margaret, Ngar village)

• “We heard gunshots. 18 people were killed and their bodies were set alight… They burnt homes. An old man who couldn’t run was killed.” (Chundung, Kurra)

• “They came around 7pm and left just before midnight. More than 200 of them in black cloth – well armed. Yesterday we lost another 19 of our people.” (Church Warden at St Timothy Church in Jos)

• “They were hacking and killing people, making sure that those that were shot were finished off…They wore red to conceal blood splashes on their clothes as they butchered their victims.” (Lydia, Ningon village)

• “I called my brother but there was no reply. The next morning I found out that he, his wife and four others were shot, butchered and burnt.” (Helen, Gana-Ropp)

• “They were going from house to house, looting and taking away anything they found valuable and then setting the houses on fire.” (Helen, Ex-Land village)

Before most of the recent attacks in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, southern Kaduna and Bauchi states, the Fulani sent a warning signal via a note or phone call – in accordance with the rules of jihad – to sometimes tell the villagers that an attack is imminent. During many of these attacks, the Fulani are reported to have shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, ‘Destroy the infidels’, and ‘Wipe out the infidels’.

The Anglican Bishop of Bauchi, Musa Mwin Tula, who represents many of the worst affected areas, summed up these concerns when he told us: “The conflict between herders and farmers has existed for a long time. But the menace in recent times has jumped from a worrisome itch to a cancerous disease, spreading through the country, claiming lives and threatening to spiral into a monster.”

The FCO’s harmful characterisation of the conflict

The motives behind the growing wave of attacks by Fulani militia have been widely debated. We agree with the FCO’s assessment that the underlying drivers of conflict are complex. Yet the recent escalation in attacks cannot be explained by ‘population growth’, ‘land and water disputes’ or ‘climate change’, as UK government ministers continue to insist. These are only part of the cause, and are not the major factors in the recent escalation of attacks. Protracted attempts to address these (albeit important) long-term factors will not stop the killings.

As the Bishop of Truro’s report, which devotes nine pages to analysing the Fulani insurgency, states: ‘Targeted violence against Christian communities in the context of worship suggests that religion plays a key part.’ We therefore urge the FCO to revise its characterisation of the violence and to acknowledge the reality of the cause of suffering; namely, the ideological aspect of the Fulani insurgency.

Ineffective FCO support for FORB

Parliamentarians from both Houses have asked the FCO repeatedly to:

• Make representations to the Government of Nigeria to take effective action to protect all their citizens and to call to account those who have been perpetrating atrocities;

• Work with the High Commission to ensure that adequate humanitarian aid is available for those suffering the loss of family members and the destruction of their homes and crops, and forced displacement;

• Urge the Nigerian Government to undertake an investigation into the ethnic and religious persecution of the affected people and the operation of the Nigerian army during these attacks.

Members have also been in touch with the British High Commission in Abuja, without receiving any response in terms of the FCO’s commitment to aid or advocacy. We are not aware of action in support of persecuted Christians in Jos (central belt) or Bauchi and Karno (northern belt) being taken by the British High Commission or other foreign diplomatic missions.

For the FCO merely to ‘emphasise the importance of mediation and inter-faith dialogue’ (letter to Baroness Cox from Andrew Stephenson, Minister for Africa, 25 August) ignores the seriousness of the crisis and the associated suffering.

Lack of FCO support for human rights defenders

During HART’s most recent visit to Nigeria, we were privileged to meet a number of courageous human rights defenders who continue to fight oppression and injustice in Nigeria, including the Anglican Archbishop of Jos, Ben Kwashi. Many people in his Diocese have suffered murder, rape and widespread displacement, told us: “We are not safe in our homes. I am raising an alarm – if [your] government will listen. Lord in your mercy.” 

We disseminated widely our visit report Hidden Atrocities in November 2018, which includes survivor testimonies and photographs of dismembered bodies. The FCO acknowledged receipt of the report during a House of Lords Oral Question on 6 December 2018. However, we are not aware of any attempts by the FCO to reach out to and support those on the front-lines of faith and freedom.

In July and August, we received urgent updates from the respected writer and analyst Canon Hassan John, who is based in Jos. His update cited evidence of the beheading of a seven-year-old boy by Fulani militia, whose family and friends were forced to abandon their homes. We forwarded the evidence to Dominic Raab (Secretary of State), to which we received a delayed and deeply unsatisfactory reply from Andrew Stephenson (Minister for Africa).

Such testimonies from human rights defenders are shared regularly with the FCO and Government ministers. Our local partners work tirelessly to advance fundamental rights and create more just and inclusive communities in northern and central-belt states. Yet alleviation of the suffering of their people is insufficiently prioritised within the FCO’s human rights work.

The Baroness Cox

CEO of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust

18 September 2019

September 2019