International Human Rights Lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, says it is impossible to deny the religious dimension of mass killings in Nigeria, warning that attackers chanting “God is great” cannot be dismissed as mere communal actors.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Monday, Ogebe argued that the rising violence in the Middle Belt and across northern Nigeria bears the clear hallmarks of religiously motivated atrocities and long-term systematic targeting of Christian communities.
“There’s no doubt that there is collateral damage. But the fact of the matter is, in the US a couple of weeks ago, a National Guardswoman was shot in the head by a guy screaming ‘God is great’ in Arabic. The people who killed Alice’s family were screaming ‘God is great’. You cannot look at both situations and say religion was not a factor,” he said.
He added: “These folks are very systematic because they look at the communities that they are certain fall within a certain identity and they target them.”
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s renewed designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for alleged Christian persecution, Ogebe said the move was justified.
“The designation is justified and has been justified for many years. The commission that does the recommendation started recommending, I think, in 2009. For about 15 years they’ve been recommending and it’s only happened twice.”
He said he had long advocated for such action, recalling the 2000 Sharia riots:
“By the year 2000 we had the Sharia riots in northern Nigeria that killed 3,000 Christians across four states. At that time they should have recommended Nigeria for designation.”
Ogebe said his decades documenting atrocity cases have revealed the sheer scale of violence.
“It’s very depressing work… none of us would have anticipated that Nigerians would be dying in droves like they are now.”
Citing fresh examples, he continued:
“On 13 June there was a massacre in Yelwata. The number of people killed that night — 278 — was more than the people killed in the war between Iran and Israel, in which missiles and aeroplanes were used.”
He also referenced the Palm Sunday killings in Plateau State:
“That same night, 54 people were slaughtered in ZK, Plateau State… That is what genocide looks like.”
Rejecting claims the attacks are mainly driven by land disputes, Ogebe said:
“The message is, let’s go and take out the infidels. So from the very beginning, there’s a religious connotation.”
He narrated an example involving a Fulani herdsman hired by the spouse of a judge:
“One day, he came back and said, ‘I nearly killed an idiot infidel today.’… We are saying that judicial officers are frustrated because of the impunity of these people.”
Ogebe pointed to Boko Haram’s own admissions:
“Mohammed Yusuf preached and he said, listen, you are wiping out the infidels… He said Yar’Adua flew me on a presidential jet and begged me to stop killing the infidels and I’m not going to do it.”
He also described graphic atrocities attributed to Fulani ethnic militias:
“One of their hallmarks is, if they meet a pregnant woman on the farm, they will slaughter her… pull out the foetus and butcher it. It doesn’t get more graphic than that.”
He added:
“There are over 300 communities in the Middle Belt now that have been sacked and are occupied by Fulani ethnic militias. And I can’t point to one Fulani village that has been occupied.”
Pushback against narratives of ‘farmer–herder clashes’ was emphatic:
“When you come into a community and you kill a three-year-old and a four-year-old, a three-year-old cannot clash with you… These are invaders who are coming in and wiping out people on their ancestral lands. It’s not a clash.”
Ogebe highlighted his work with the International Criminal Court:
“After they investigated, they finally indicted not only Boko Haram but the Nigerian Army for atrocities. They have indictments as we speak. It is a lack of political will to proceed — that’s why it hasn’t happened.”
He described a once-strong partnership:
“The US and Nigeria have had amazing historic relationships… But right now we’re at a point where there’s a real drift.”
He warned of shifting American attitudes:
“They’re at a point where they’re saying, if you will not protect your own people from being killed, we’ll go ahead and do it ourselves.”
Ogebe said Republican Congressman Riley Moore’s team appears highly invested in the issue:
“In fairness to the Republicans, they’re a bit more honest about their assessments than the Democrats. I noticed he came here with a Gulfstream jet… That shows you how serious this is.”
He added:
“I think they really took it seriously, and I think the evidence will speak for itself.”
Boluwatife Enome
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