Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Nigeria Revisited: Boko Haram


Nigeria

Basic Info: Of the 177.2 million (July 2014 estimate) population, it is estimated approximately 50 percent is Muslim and 50 percent Christian. A small number adheres solely to indigenous religious beliefs, and many individuals combine indigenous beliefs with Muslim or Christian beliefs and practices. The predominant Islamic group is Sunni, divided among Sufi groups. Growing Shia and Izala (Salafist) minorities exist. There are also a small number of Ahmadi Muslims. Christian groups include evangelicals, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The northern states are predominantly Muslim, but a significant number of Christians also reside in the north, and Christians and Muslims reside in about equal numbers in central Nigeria, the Federal Capital Territory, and the southwestern states. Evangelical denominations are growing rapidly in the central and southern regions. Because of the close links among religion, ethnicity, and political and economic interests, it is difficult to categorize many incidents as based solely on religious identity. The disputes were usually between ethnic groups native to a region (indigenes) and those whose ethnic roots originated in another part of the country (settlers). Often the indigenes and settlers belonged to different religious as well as ethnic groups. The federal government again did not implement any recommendations from numerous government-sponsored panels for resolving these types of disputes or reducing tensions, despite ongoing calls by political and religious leaders to do so.

Government: The constitution bars the federal and state governments from adopting a state religion, prohibits religious discrimination, and provides for individuals’ freedom to choose, practice, propagate, or change their religion. Despite these assurances, the federal government was ineffective in preventing or quelling violence, often expressed along religious lines, in the northeastern and central regions of the country. The federal government only occasionally investigated, prosecuted, or punished those responsible for abusing religious freedom, and sometimes responded to violence with heavy-handed tactics. Some state and local government laws discriminated against members of the minority religions in their regions. Christian groups said they faced difficulty obtaining government employment or permits to construct churches in those states. Both Muslims and Christians continued to fear discrimination or abuse based on their religious affiliation and experienced societal pressure, including threats of violence and ostracism, if they changed or abandoned their faith. Religious groups continued to say some employers engaged in religious discrimination.

Christian Issues: In some states, sharia-based practices, such as the separation of the sexes in public schools and in health care, voting, and transportation facilities, affected non‑Muslim minorities. Some Christian groups said religious affairs ministries in some states provided services to Muslims exclusively. Authorities in some states reportedly denied building permits to minority religious communities for construction of new places of worship, for expansion and renovation of existing facilities, or for reconstruction of buildings that had been demolished. Christians reported local government officials in the predominantly Muslim northern states used regulations on zoning and title registrations to stop or slow the establishment of new churches. Church leaders said they evaded the restrictions by purchasing and developing land in the name of an individual member of the congregation, but this practice left the church in a tenuous legal position. Christian groups reported individual administrators of government-run universities and technical schools in several northern states refused to admit Christian students or delayed the issuance of their degrees and licenses.

Boko Haram: Boko Haram continued to commit violent acts in its stated quest to impose its religious and political beliefs throughout the country, especially in the northeast. The U.S. government designated Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization in 2013, and the UN Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added Boko Haram to its list of sanctioned entities May 22.  Civil society groups estimated Boko Haram killed more people during the past year than in the previous five years combined.

Muslims: Boko Haram killed Muslims who spoke out against or opposed their radical ideology. For example, attackers detonated three bombs at the Kano central mosque during Friday prayers November 28, and then opened fire on fleeing worshippers, killing over 100 people in total. Analysts speculated the attack was directed at the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, since he often leads Friday prayers at the central mosque, the mosque is adjacent to his palace, and he had recently called on citizens to practice self-defense against Boko Haram. Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, a Muslim leader who spoke out against Boko Haram, was targeted by bombs twice during the year, once at his home July 2, and once after a speech in Kaduna July 23. The unsuccessful assassination attempts were widely believed to be an attempt by Boko Haram to silence the leader of the Tijaniyah branch of Sufism in Nigeria, although the group did not claim responsibility. Boko Haram fighters killed the Emir of Gwoza, Idrissa Timta, on May 30, when they attacked the convoy in which he was riding with other traditional rulers. Timta had previously condemned the insurgency and its impact on his community.

Christians: Boko Haram claimed responsibility for scores of fatal attacks on churches and mosques, often killing worshipers during religious services or immediately afterward. Boko Haram burned down many churches and mosques, often while overrunning the villages they raided or occupied. There were multiple confirmed reports Boko Haram had targeted individuals and communities because of their religious beliefs, including Christians in remote areas of Borno and Yobe States. Survivors and relatives of victims said armed men had attempted to force them to renounce Christianity, killing those who did not convert on the spot. On April 14, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 mostly Christian girls taking exams at the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok, in Borno State. Boko Haram released a video in which its leader Abubakar Shekau said he would sell the girls into slavery and several of the girls stated they had converted to Islam. Other women whom Boko Haram had abducted later reported they were forced to convert in order to legitimize their “marriage” to their captors, and those who refused to convert were subjected to physical abuse, sexual abuse, forced marriage, and forced labor. There were also reports Boko Haram had targeted persons engaging in activities they perceived as un-Islamic. On June 18, attackers bombed a venue for watching World Cup matches in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, killing more than dozen people.

Cities: Boko Haram expanded its control over urban areas of Borno and Adamawa States in the northeast, committing abuses such as mass killings, mass kidnappings, sexual assault, forced conversion, and forced conscription.  Religious leaders, civil society, and international human rights organizations condemned the military’s ineffectual or indiscriminate response. Many reported the military did not respond to attacks or threats of attack by Boko Haram, even if given ample warning. Residents reported the military fled their posts during or in anticipation of an attack, and some attacks lasted hours without any response to pleas for military intervention. Soldiers said they lacked the ammunition and other supplies to confront Boko Haram. Press reports indicated that soldiers fled Biita and Izge in Borno State in June after a Boko Haram attack, and many deserted, saying they were outgunned by Boko Haram. Security forces reportedly abandoned Mubi in Adamawa State in October in advance of a Boko Haram attack.  Boko Haram was able to carry out suicide bombings inside the city and controlled much of the surrounding area. Boko Haram captured and sometimes held several large towns in Borno and Adamawa States, including Damboa, Gwoza, Bama, and Mubi. Some of these towns remained under Boko Haram control while others were retaken by the Nigerian military. Boko Haram destroyed the military base at Damboa in Borno State July 4, killing more than a dozen soldiers, including the commanding officer. In another such incident in Borno State, Boko Haram overran and captured the National Police Mobile Training Camp in Limankara, outside Gwoza in Borno State, forcing dozens of police to flee. Boko Haram targeted Muslim civilians who aided the security forces, often through state-supported, self-defense groups known as the Civilian Joint Task Force. In a video released in late August, the leader of Boko Haram vowed to kill members of these self-defense groups and showed the execution of some 20 alleged group members.

US Involvement: U.S. embassy and consulate general officials discussed and advocated for religious freedom and tolerance with government, religious, civil society, and traditional leaders. U.S. government officials discussed Boko Haram in high-level bilateral meetings. More than a dozen visiting U.S. delegations, including the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, raised religious freedom with state and federal government officials. They encouraged these officials to address interreligious violence and called for timely legal action against perpetrators of violence. President Obama offered military and law enforcement assistance to the government to help recover schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram and to combat insecurity in the north. Vice President Biden met with President Jonathan August 5 and reiterated U.S. support for efforts to counter Boko Haram and the importance of respecting religious and other human rights. In Washington, National Security Advisor Rice met with 12 Nigerian state governors March 19, and discussed the need to end the insurgency in the north and to protect religious and other human rights. The embassy met with persons displaced by violence and expanded a project building interfaith networks in order to reduce ethno‑religious conflict and promote religious tolerance in six northern states.

Refugees: According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 100,000 refugees fled to neighboring countries. Estimates for the number of Nigerians displaced by the conflict in the northeast range from 800,000 to 1.5 million. One Christian group, Ekklesiyar ‘Yan Uwa a Nigeria, based in the northeast, reported it was providing assistance to thousands of displaced members outside of Borno State, since hundreds of thousands of its members had been killed or displaced, hundreds of its church facilities destroyed, hundreds of its parishioners kidnapped, and several of its clergy killed since the conflict in the northeast began. Some refugees reported fear of both Boko Haram and the military prevented their return.

Interfaith Efforts: Many religious leaders publicly supported tolerance and interfaith methods of conflict resolution. For example, Catholic Cardinal John Onaiyekan and Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar held a summit on interfaith understanding in August. The independent Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) comprised of Christian and Muslim leaders, failed to meet during the year, to the frustration of many Muslim and Christian leaders. The NIREC co-chair and head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has criticized Muslim leaders for not doing enough to condemn Boko Haram and has been reluctant to engage in interfaith dialogue, as a result. Muslim and other Christian leaders have expressed disappointment at Oritsejafor’s stance.
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