What changed

B90105/2024

P9_TA(2024)0072

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the recentRecent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria

(2024/2552(RSP))

PE756.847

European Parliament resolution of 8 February 2024 on the recent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria (2024/2552(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to RuleRules 144144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas series of attacks by gunmen on multiple rural communities in Plateau State on Christmas Eve killed at least 150 people;

A. whereas the security situation in Nigeria has been aggravated by an escalation of religious, ethnic and intercommunal conflicts, particularly in the country’s Middle Belt, where the conflict between farmers and nomadic herders over land and water resources has resulted in an unprecedented death toll since Christmas;

whereas the conflict is increasingly described in religious terms, while the perpetrators are yet to be identified and several factors are to be taken into account such as competition for land fuelled by rapid climate change and the failure of authorities to hold to account those responsible for violence;

B. whereas between 23 and 25 December 2023, gunmen launched a large-scale attack on more than 160 villages in the Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Magu authority areas of Plateau State, causing the deaths of over 335 people, including at least 200 members of Christian communities;

whereas prior to the Christmas Eve, attacks have been happening in other northern Nigerian communities in Benue, Taraba, Niger, and Borno, resulting in the killing of hundreds of people and the displacement of scores of women, children and older people;

C. whereas many of the displaced are currently living in temporary camps with limited access to water, sanitation, food, medication and healthcare, including mental health services;

whereas since the beginning of Nigeria’s conflict with the Islamist armed group Boko Haram in 2009, more than two million people have been displaced in the country’s northeast;

D. whereas according to Nigerian NGOs, 52 000 Christians and 34 000 Muslims have been killed since 2009, and 18 000 churches and 2 200 Christian schools have been destroyed;

whereas 40% of the Nigerian population live in poverty, mostly concentrated in the North and in rural areas; whereas the oil and gas sector accounts for 80 % of total revenue to the government; whereas thousands of Nigerian villagers has been affected by the contamination of the water they drink, the land they grow food on and the air they breathe;

E. whereas violence by Islamic terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, who target both Christians and Muslims in north-east Nigeria, has already displaced over two million people;

Strongly condemns all type of murderous attacks across Nigeria and expresses its solidarity with the Nigerian people;

F. whereas the factors fuelling the clashes overlap and are rooted in, among other things, territorial disputes, ethnic tensions, access to scarce resources and environmental degradation;

Warns against an instrumentalisation of the farmers-herders conflict for spreading religion-based hatred; calls on the Nigerian authorities to take meaningful steps to identify and address all root causes of the violence in Plateau state, such as competition for scarce resources, environmental degradation and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes;

1. Strongly condemns the acts of violence over Christmas targeting Christians and other communities, which resulted in an unprecedented number of deaths, injuries and displacements, and expresses its solidarity with those affected;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into all the Plateau attacks, ensure accountability by bringing the perpetrators to justice in fair trials and provide a remedy to the victims;

2. Calls on the Nigerian authorities to take action against militant Islamist groups exploiting the farmer-herder conflict, and urges them to address its root causes; warns that the conflict may be instrumentalised to spread religion-based hatred; acknowledges the role of climate change, competition for scarce resources and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes in aggravating the farmer-herder conflict, pushing the herders to move south;

In a context of high levels of poverty in northern Nigeria, urges the Nigerian authorities to ensure fair repartition of revenues to all the regions and provide better education and health care services in the north;

3. Calls on the Nigerian authorities to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of the Christmas attacks and ensure that those responsible are held to account;

Urges the Nigerian authorities to guarantee respect for human rights in the country, and to protect the civilian population from terrorism, violence and pollution; Recalls that women and children are most vulnerable to the effects of conflict, terrorism and violence in the country; Is extremely concerned at rapidly intensifying climate change in Nigeria and its impact on livelihoods;

4. Urges all humanitarian actors to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to addressing the crisis;

Calls on the EU to ensure humanitarian assistance for those affected and displaced by the violence and climate change in Nigeria with adequate relief, including protection, shelter, food, healthcare;

5. Welcomes the Nigerian Parliament’s debate on the issue and encourages the Nigerian Government to enhance the security of communities, to foster dialogue and conflict mediation and to reaffirm its commitment to socio-economic recovery;

Calls on the Commission to ensure that EU funding is spent effectively to promote legal migration pathways and thus avoid perilous journeys through the Sahara and Mediterranean and criminalisation of migrants;

6. Welcomes the strong partnership between the EU and Nigeria and calls for it to be deepened further in the areas of security, mediation, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and peace-building; encourages the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to visit Nigeria; welcomes the announcement of a EUR 900 million Global Gateway package for Nigeria in October 2023;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution.

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Government and Parliament of Nigeria.