What changed

B90119/2024

B90105/2024

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

(2024/2552(RSP))

having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas on Christmas Eve 2023, atseries leastof 160attacks peopleby weregunmen murderedon bymultiple Fulanirural militantscommunities in the Christian-majorityPlateau BokkosState andon Barkin-LadiChristmas areasEve ofkilled Plateauat Stateleast in150 Nigeria;people;

whereas more than 300 people suffered injuries or lost their homes, reportedly 8 churches were incinerated and 15,000 people were internally displaced because of the attacks;

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;

whereas since 2010, heavily armed militia have persistently targeted farming and herding communities in Middle Belt states; whereas while the motives of the militia groups are diverse, a significant portion of them are driven by ethnoreligious factors, disproportionately targeting Christians;

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;

whereas Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) specifically target Christians and Muslims who reject extremism, while the government’s security response is ineffective;

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;

whereas the attacks have long-term social, economic, and political implications, posing significant challenges to peaceful coexistence and stability within the Federal State of Nigeria;

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;

whereas the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) report from February 2023 revealed that in the three-year reporting period up to 2022, 12,793 Christians and 4,497 Muslims had been killed in Nigeria in the context of attacks by ‘terror groups’;

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

Whereas the implementation of blasphemy laws and the implementation of Sharia law exacerbate a culture of mob violence against Christians and other religious groups;

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;

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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;

Strongly condemns the recent acts of violence, loss of life, and destruction of property against the Christian population in Central Plateau State in Nigeria;

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;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities at all levels to swiftly take concrete measures to end the attacks and to pursue effective security measures to protect the life and property of the people of Plateau State and provide guarantees of non-recurrence;

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;

Calls for a thorough investigation to identify the sponsors, actors, routes, and modus operandi of the attackers and to hold the perpetrators and those suspected of being complicit in the crimes accountable, in order to bring justice to those affected by the attacks;

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;

Calls on the authorities to ensure that essential humanitarian assistance is provided to the devastated communities and to provide adequate compensation to all people who have suffered losses from the attacks;

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;

Reiterates its call on the Nigerian Federal authorities to repeal the blasphemy laws at federal and state level;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution.

Calls on the EU and the Members States to address the failure of security in rural parts of Nigeria in its exchanges with the Nigerian authorities at all levels;

Calls on the Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) to visit Nigeria and meet with relevant actors to promote religious freedom and peaceful interreligious coexistence in Nigeria;

Regrets that the High Representative/Vice President did not make a formal statement following the attacks on 24 December;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU Institutions, the Member States and the Government and Parliament of Nigeria.