Father Cosmas Nzeabalu and Sister Elizabeth Ogbu, both assigned to the Diocese of Brooklyn, told The Tablet that they believe the Nigerian government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has done little to prevent ongoing violence between Moslem cattle herders and Christian farmers.
The herdsmen predominately belong to the Fulani
... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity...tribe from the arid north, while Christians, including Catholics, dominate the south’s verdant farmlands. The two groups want access to good agricultural land at Nigeria’s center, called the "Middle Belt." Herdsmen have participated in the killing of 13,079 Christians between 2001-2019, according to estimates from the International Committee on Nigeria.
At the same time, Islamic snuffies from the group Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...have resorted to terror, said Father Cosmas, coordinator of the Nigerian apostolate for the diocese.
"Boko Haram destroys churches and western education," he said, "and then the herdsmen get into every nook and cranny with their cows. When the Christian farmers reject that, it results in them getting killed."
Sister Elizabeth works at Catholic Telemedia Network, developing a digital-based curriculum for Catholic schools. CTN is a service of DeSales Media Group, the parent company of The Tablet.
She said the Fulani want "greener pastures" for cattle but added that "as time goes on, it turns out to be a religious thing."
The proof is the violence spreading from the fields to churches in villages and suburbs. Clergy and worshipers, including children, are kidnapped or murdered, according to Sister Elizabeth.
"It’s not just about a fight that busts out," she explained. "They go into churches and burn them down while people are inside worshiping. This is deliberate; it is planned."
For example, Father Cosmas pointed to recent trouble in the state of Kaduna. In August, button men believed to be Fulanis arrived on cycle of violences, killed one man, and burned down a Baptist church. They also held a teacher and four students hostage but released them in mid-October after a ransom payment.
The victims know the attackers aren’t from Boko Haram because they recognize them as herdsmen encountered in the fields, Sister Elizabeth said.
Attackers typically use clubs, rocks, machetes, and crude hunting rifles made from antique and modern gun parts. They also weaponize cattle, spurring stampedes to trample crops.
But now, the herdsmen brandish AK-47 rifles. A single AK-47 costs a few hundred U.S. dollars — probably too expensive for an average herdsman’s wages. Sister Elizabeth, therefore, thinks they’re getting help.