What changed

B90118/2024

B90114/2024

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

The European Parliament,

having regard to itsRules previous144(5) resolutionsand on132(4) Nigeria,of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

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

having regard to Rule 144 of its rules of procedure,

B. 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 burned down; whereas on Christmas eve over 200 Christians were killed in Plateau state after a worrying escalation of farmer-herder conflicts; where jihadi violence against Christians has also led to casualties in other parts of the country;

whereas on 24 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 in north-central Nigeria;

C. whereas Nigeria’s population, the most numerous in Africa, is very diverse with over 250 ethnicities, and almost equally distributed between Muslims and Christians; whereas the country is home to the region’s largest Christian community, with nearly 30 million Christians living in northern Nigeria;

whereas the attacks resulted in 335 deaths, 171 injured, over 409 razed houses, and an estimated 18,275 people displaced; 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 women have been disproportionately affected by the displacement crisis;

1. Strongly condemns the attacks perpetrated against Christian communities over Christmas which resulted in an unprecedented number of deaths, injuries and displaced people in the areas of Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Mangu in Plateau State;

whereas no-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks; whereas in January 2024 around 50 people were killed in further clashes in Mangu in Plateau state, where houses, churches and mosques were burnt down; whereas the security situation in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria is characterised by frequent attacks as a result of ongoing intense conflict marked by religious division between the largely Fulani Muslim herders and Christian farmers;

2. Reiterates its concern about the worsening security situation in Plateau State and the worrying cycle of violence;

whereas the underlying elements to the conflict extend far beyond religious differences; whereas the factors fuelling clashes are overlapping and rooted in territorial disputes, ethnic clashes, access to scarce resources, environmental degradation; endemic poverty, social exclusion, and lack of access to basic services, education, and opportunities for stable livelihoods;

3. Condemns the recent increase in violence against ethnic and religious communities, including the targeting of religious institutions and worshippers;

Deplores the Christmas Eve attacks and deeply regrets the loss of life;

4. Extends its condolences to the families of the victims, and expresses its solidarity with the Nigerian people;

Urges humanitarian actors including the Commission and EEAS to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to addressing the humanitarian crisis, including providing services for psychological support;

5. Strongly condemns militant Islamist groups exploiting the conflict, thus further fuelling insecurity; warns against an instrumentalisation of the farmers-herders conflict as a means to spread religion-based hatred;

Expresses concern at the rising insecurity across the country; underlines the obligations of the Nigerian authorities to protect lives and livelihoods; urges authorities to invest greater resources to ensure operations undertaken by security forces are conducted with the cooperation and trust of local communities, are effective in protecting the population, and are fully in line with national and international human rights law;

6. Acknowledges the role of climate change, in the form of droughts and floods in northern Nigeria, in aggravating the farmers-herders conflict, pushing the herders to move south;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of the December attacks and ensure those responsible are held to account in fair trials;

7. Welcomes the debate by the Nigerian Parliament on the issue and encourages the government to enhance the security of citizens and communities, to foster dialogue and conflict mediation, and to reassure its commitment to socio-economic recovery;

Underlines the importance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to ensure EU support holistically addresses security, political, humanitarian and sustainable development needs;

8. Welcomes the strong EU-Nigeria partnership and calls for further deepening of the relationship, including in the area of security, mediation, and peace-building;

Stresses in particular the need for continued interreligious and intercultural dialogue; urges the Commission and EEAS to continue supporting initiatives bringing together community and religious leaders as well as governmental and non-governmental stakeholders for peacebuilding dialogue; underlines the importance of ensuring woman and young people are fully represented in this process;

9. Welcomes Nigeria’s condemnation of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in multilateral fora;

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

10. Welcomes the EU announcement of a EUR 900 million Global Gateway package in October to advance the country’s futureproof green and digital transition in line with the government’s priorities; notes the priority placed by the incoming government on economic diversification and the opportunities this offers to deepen EU-Nigeria relations;

11. Welcomes Nigeria’s assumption of the ECOWAS chairmanship; reiterates the positive role regional integration under ECOWAS plays for peace, stability and prosperity in West Africa;

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