Bandits
By Akeem Atoyebi
The Christian Rights Agenda (CRA) has alarmingly given a note of warning over the increasing wave of terror attacks in Benue, Plateau, and other parts of northern Nigeria, saying that more than 80 communities have fallen under the control of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters.
Secretary-General of CRA , Reverend Dikwa in a statement issued on Sunday, stated that his team was closely monitoring the situation, tagging the recent spate of violence as a coordinated effort by insurgents to impose terror, religious intolerance and complete anarchy.
Dikwa said that the organisation had deployed teams to Benue, Plateau and Borno states to gather firsthand evidence of the growing humanitarian disaster facing the Christian communities.
Preliminary reports, he noted , confirmed that over 80 communities have already been seized by terrorists, leaving a trail of death, destruction and mass displacement in their wake.
“The current attacks are systematic, organised and aimed at wiping out entire the Christian communities,” Reverend Dikwa stated.
He warned keenly that Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads if urgent action is not taken by President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government.
While commending Mr. President for issuing new marching orders to security agencies to curb the violence, CRA cautioned that such directives must not be merely cosmetic.
The group stressed the need for strict implementation and accountability, urging that security personnel who fail to deliver on their duties must be sanctioned to prevent further sabotage.
The organisation further criticised state governors for what it described as politicising the killings, calling on them to be courageous enough to address the root cause of the violence without hiding behind political rhetoric.
“It is no longer acceptable to downplay the gravity of the situation.
“Communities are being wiped out. Children, women and the elderly are being slaughtered.
“Homes are burnt to ashes. It is genocide and it must be called by its real name,” the CRA stated.
The organization said it was compiling a comprehensive database of the attacks to expose the ongoing persecution of Christians in northern Nigeria, vowing to keep the international community informed of the deteriorating situation.
It warned that unless urgent and decisive measures were taken, the number of communities falling under terrorists’ control could multiply, further destabilising the region and plunging Nigeria into deeper sociopolitical crises.
