ICC Note: In the wake of brutal Fulani herder attacks on Enugu State in Southeast Nigeria, a prominent political voice from the region says the radical Islamists have been targeting Christians for decades. Emmanuel Enekwechi, prime minister in exile of the separatist Biafran region says the recent attacks evidence an expanding Islamist takeover bleeding into southern Nigeria. Fulani herders continue to ravage predominantly Christian areas of the “Middle Belt” central region of the country and the scale and brutality of the attacks now expanding into the south suggests a deeper explanation than historical tribal tensions through which the mainstream media and government officials portray the issue. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the Enugu attacks and has reportedly pledged to crack down on the perpetrators.
By Ludovica Iaccino
4/29/16 Enugu, Nigeria (IBT) – Militants have been targeting southerners throughout Nigeria for decades, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Biafran government in exile (BGIE) told IBTimes UK. Emmanuel Enekwechi, head of BGIE since its creation in the US in 2007, made the comments just days after dozens were killed in Enugu state, southeastern Nigeria, amid fears herdsmen from the Fulani ethnic group were behind the atrocity.
The killings occurred at a time when attacks attributed to Fulani militants are on the rise in Nigeria, where pro-Biafran secessionist groups have accused the Fulani herdsmen of targeting Christians and southerners in a bid to “Islamise the Christian-dominated region”.
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