What changed

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

B90101/2024

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

(2024/2552(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rules 144(5) andRule 132(4)144 of its Rules of Procedure,

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 coordinated attacks launched between 23 and 26 December in Nigeria's Plateau State, killed nearly 200 people and displaced more than 18.000; whereas another attack on 24 January killed more than 50 people and displaced more than 20.000; whereas the attacks have also resulted in the destruction of homes, farmlands, and economic livelihoods and has caused a significant humanitarian crisis;

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 according to the UN, "inter-communal conflicts" in the Plateau state, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years and have led to the destruction of property and food shortages in the affected communities;

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 the clashes in the region have their origins in communal tensions over land between nomadic herders and farmers, but have been exacerbated by the effects of climate change, agricultural expansion and rapid population growth; whereas the situation has been exacerbated by reprisal attacks and a wider criminal network;

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 Nigeria is the largest economy on the African continent, but despite its vast resources, Nigeria is among the most unequal countries in the world with the largest population living in extreme poverty; whereas this poverty contributes directly to a social, religious and regional division;

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 the escalating inter-ethnic violence between herders and farmers which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries and displaced thousands of 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 the instrumentalisation of the conflict for spreading religion-based hatred; recalls that until the 1970s, the coexistence between herdsmen and farmers was peaceful and regrets that the current violence, which is about access to land, and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes, is being depicted as a religious conflict, wrongly and dangerously simplifying the issue;

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 put in place measures to ensure civilian protection and to create safeguards so security forces responding the violence do not commit more abuse;

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;

Demands the Nigerian authorities to take meaningful steps to address the underlying root causes and ensure non-repetition of this violence, promoting dialogue and understanding between diverse communities and peaceful coexistence;

3. Calls onto the Nigerian authorities to conduct aprompt, thorough,impartial independentand investigationeffective ofinvestigations thein Christmasorder attacksto andidentify, ensureprosecute thatand punish those responsible arefor heldthe violence, and ensure that victims have access to account;effective remedies and full reparation;

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

Urges donors to increase their humanitarian aid by providing adequate relief, including protection, shelter, food and health care;

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;

Condemns the impact that the climate crisis and the historical plundering of natural resources are having on the African continent; reiterates that announcements of green transitions, are insufficient without prior redistribution of wealth, as the cost of the transition will fall mainly on the poorest countries and the poorest parts of societies; ;

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 Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to visit Nigeria; welcomes the announcement of a EUR 900 million Global Gateway package for Nigeria in October 2023;

Urges the European Union to reach climate neutrality by 2040, while ensuring that the transition is just and inclusive, without leaving no one behind;

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 AffairsEU andinstitutions, SecurityMember PolicyStates, and the Government and Parliament ofNigerian Nigeria.authorities.