The United Kingdom Parliament has petitioned the Commonwealth secretary general, Ms. Patricia Scotland against growing violence in Nigeria where Boko Haram insurgents, Fulani herdsmen and other lslamist militia continue in northern and middle-belt states and with reports of increasing violence in the southeast.
In a letter dated September 14, 2020 and signed by Baroness Caroline Cox of the House of Lords and addressed to the secretary general, the UK parliament decried the failure of the federal government to protect its citizens saying it “is a clear breach of its obligations under the Commonwealth Charter in respect of human rights.”
It said “there is now an urgent need to ensure adequate protection and aid for those suffering the loss of family members and the destruction of their homes and livelihoods.”
The letter petition which was signed by 20 persons including the archbishop of Canterbury 2002-2012, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the archbishop of Canterbury 1991-2002, Lord Carey of Clifton and Ayo Adedoin of International Organisation for Peace and Social Justice reads: “We write to highlight urgent concerns about escalating violence in Nigeria, where attacks led by Boko Haram, Fulani herders and other Islamist militia continue in northern and central-belt states, with reports of increasing violence in the southeast.
“According to a report by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, entitled ‘Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide?’, thousands of civilians have been killed and elements of the Nigerian Government may be complicit in violence.
“The APPG’s concerns reflect the findings of a report by Amnesty International, ‘We dried our tears: Addressing the toll on children of Northeast Nigeria’s conflict’, which concludes that the Nigerian armed forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during their operations.
“The Nigerian army’s former Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Theophilus Danjuma, whom some of us have met and spoken to, says the armed forces are “not neutral; they collude” in the “ethnic cleansing in… riverine states” by Fulani herders. He insists that villagers must defend themselves because “depending on the armed forces” will result in them dying “one by one. The ethnic cleansing must stop.
“The State’s failure to protect its citizens is a clear breach of its obligations under the Commonwealth Charter in respect of human rights. There is now an urgent need (a) to ensure adequate protection and aid for those suffering the loss of family members and the destruction of their homes and livelihoods; and (b) to end impunity by ensuring that complaints related to human rights violations are promptly, independently and impartially investigated, and those responsible are held to account after fair trials.
“We write, therefore, to ask whether you are able to respond on behalf of The Commonwealth and to raise these urgent concerns with the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. We would be very willing to meet in person (or perhaps more practically, online via zoom) to discuss how we might proceed.”
