More than 1,000 Christians have been murdered by Islamic extremists in Nigeria in the last year.
Fulani tribesmen have been carrying out attacks on Christians for several years. The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) estimates more than 6,000 have been killed since 2015.
Baroness Caroline Cox, founder of HART, said the nomadic Fulani herdsmen “seek to replace diversity and difference with an Islamist ideology which is imposed with violence on those who refuse to comply. It is – according to the Nigerian House of Representatives – genocide.”
Testimonies
Baroness Cox reported the testimonies of some of the survivors of the attacks, with one woman saying: “I heard gunshots and the attack started. My seven-year-old was too heavy to carry.
She added: “The hospital was burnt. They tried to burn the roof of the church by piling up chairs, like a bonfire.”
A pastor said: “Every day we carry new corpses to the cemetery. They kill farmers. They destroy our homes and churches. They kidnap and rape women.”
Lady Cox, a patron of The Christian Institute, called on the Foreign Office to “ensure the Nigerian government takes effective action to protect all its citizens and call to account those who perpetrate atrocities”.