The evidence is there: not only is there a genocide being actioned in Nigeria, but this slaughter is being supported by government. In early December 2020, Lela Gilbert, Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom, USA, wrote for Family Research Council, “At long last, broken and bloodstained Nigeria has been declared a CPC— a ‘country of particular concern’—by the U.S. State Department”, in her article published by the Hudson Institute (an acclaimed Think tank and research centre). The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was also grateful to the US government for at long last designating Nigeria a CPC, something that USCIRF had been recommending since 2009.
In that same article mentioned above, Gilbert went on to state, “…At Family Research Council, we have written repeatedly and at length about the horrifying violence in that West African country. Our lengthy report on Nigeria forewarned: Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, and with horrifying acceleration in recent years, verified reports of murders, rapes, mutilations, and kidnapping of Christians in Nigeria have persistently increased. These attacks are frequently accompanied by the torching of homes, churches, villages, and agricultural fields. A July 15, 2020 headline reports that 1,202 Nigerian Christians were killed in the first six months of 2020. This is in addition to 11,000 Christians who have been killed since June 2015. Such violence has reached a point at which expert observers and analysts are warning of a progressive genocide—a ‘slow-motion war’ specifically targeting Christians across Africa’s largest and most economically powerful nation…”
From the portion quoted above we learn that the slaughter was “since the dawn of the twenty-first century”, ie, since year 2000. Other international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as PSJ and ICON also published their findings that the genocide in Nigeria started around year 2000 too. That is important to note because the killings started massively soon after the illegitimate 1999 Constitution of Nigeria was imposed upon the people. That 1999 Constitution is a forgery of suspicious origins, that does not have the consent of the governed. It is the document used to prevent citizens from equipping and defending themselves against armed attackers, plus it impoverishes and produces countrywide retardation. What has become clear is that the Fulani Caliphate that became powerful during the military era maintained their hold over the country through that 1999 Constitution which Nigerians had not even seen, when the outgoing military foisted it on the country when civilian rule began in 1999. All fingers point to Fulani and Boko Haram terrorists as the killers in this genocide, and their victims are the indigenous peoples, particularly Christians, although moderate Moslems are also being targeted. The ultimate aim of the genocide is extermination of indigenous peoples for land grab so as to bring about the openly stated Caliphate Agenda of making Nigeria an Islamic “estate” of the Fulani, the vision of Bello, a Fulani man who was Premier of the Northern Region in 1960 at Nigeria’s Independence from Britain. Under Buhari, a Fulani Moslem, the silent slaughter in Nigeria intensified greatly when he became President in 2015. Buhari also saw to it that his fellow Fulani hold most of the top ministerial and civil service positions, such that citizens often refer to his administration as the “Fulani Government of Nigeria”.
It goes without saying that GENOCIDE is a most serious crime, it is called the “crime of crimes”. Nigeria is going to be judged under the United Nations “Genocide Convention”, which states (abbreviated):
Genocide is a crime under international law, and is condemned by the civilized world;
Genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime which must be prevented and punished;
The following acts shall be punishable: (a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide;
Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts listed above shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals;
Taking responsibility is not something popular among those in positions of authority and influence in Nigeria, and the environment created by the illegitimate 1999 Constitution allows and protects that mentality. However, genocide brings about international attention (and interventions). Therefore, those who are in the political class, civil service, legal professions, media and journalism, and NGOs/CSOs, plus also traditional rulers and religious leaders, should pay particular attention to themselves, because in due course, an account will be demanded of them.
The situation in Nigeria is both frightful and scandalous. It is clear that the enabler of the now twenty-year genocide is the “twenty-year old” 1999 Constitution. The victims of that illegitimate “instrument of governance” having come together under the NINAS Movement, which comprises the indigenous peoples of the South and Middle Belt, on 16th December 2020 Proclaimed a Constitutional Force Majeure (CFM) to Decommission that Repudiated 1999 Constitution, and regain their Self-Determination, and activate their right to armed self-defence, hijacked by that document. The CFM is an ORDERLY PROCESS that involves a transitioning period (transitional government) during which ethnic nationalities will conduct their UN-backed Regional Referendums to decide whether to recommit to the Union, or to go for something else. This follows a pathway similar to how South Africa decommissioned its own Apartheid Constitution.
The NINAS Movement wants to by all means prevent escalation of the various forms of deadly insecurities occasioned by the illegitimate 1999 Constitution operated by the Buhari government. Apart from the Fulani and Boko Haram-led genocide, there are cattle rearing organisations inciting violence, various separatist agitations threatening violence, plus now violent street gangs operating as “security outfit”, in this chaotic mix. Tens of thousands of Nigerians have fled to the West and the Orient, while many more are hoping to flee. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced to IDP camps within Nigeria or refugee camps in neighbouring countries. To worsen this terrible situation, ISIS (ISWAP) and Al-Qaeda plus Shuwa Arab mercenaries are all in the Nigerian space hoping to make the territory their home. If Nigeria’s deteriorating condition is not intelligently managed, global security would be completely compromised! In addition, the burden, financially and demographically that Nigerian refugees and migrants would pose on the global community would be enormous.
The NINAS Movement has made its methods and objectives clear, and available for scrutiny on their various websites. The NINAS strategy is intellectually and legally sound. It is a non-violent approach to put a stop to the genocide, contain the Islamist terrorists, bring in democracy, and provide a framework to correct the various ills in Nigeria.
Ndidi Uwechue is a British citizen with Igbo heritage from the Lower Niger Bloc. She is a retired Metropolitan (London) Police Officer, she is a signatory to the Constitutional Force Majeure, and she writes from Abuja.
