AFRICA/NIGERIA - Attacks on villages; the Archbishop of Jos "Where are the security forces?"

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "We are amazed at how these gangs are able to attack the villages and the security forces do not intervene. Police and soldiers appear on the scene only when the attackers have gone away. The situation is really alarming," says to Fides Agency His Exc. Mgr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama Archbishop of Jos and President of the Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, commenting on the recent attacks committed by gangs of Fulani farmers against three villages in central Nigeria that caused, between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, 19 victims and 4,500 displaced.
The continuous attacks committed against villages in the States of Kaduna and Plateau have caused about 90 deaths in recent months. Mgr. Kaigama wonders why the security forces are unable to stop this wave of violence, "Where do these people come from? What streets do they take to reach the affected villages? How do they bring the weapons of war to conduct their attacks without attracting the attention of the police? "
We ask Mgr. Kaigama if he considers it possible that these gangs are funded by someone for political purposes. "I do not know, but I can say that the Fulani farmers who commit these crimes in response to the theft of livestock (at least this is what they claim), are able to procure weapons of war because they have more income compared to the farmers they attack." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 03/04/2013)


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