Our Reporter, Abuja
A broad coalition of civil society organisations, rights advocates and community leaders has called on the Federal Government to urgently scale up security measures and protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable communities across Nigeria, warning of a recurring pattern of deadly attacks during the Christmas season, particularly in the Middle Belt.
In a joint statement issued on December 19 in Abuja, Jos and Kaduna, the groups said Christmas had increasingly become a period of fear and displacement for many communities since the 2010 Christmas Day twin bombings in Ungwan Rukuba and Gada Biyu, Jos, and the 2011 attack on St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State.
They recalled several subsequent attacks, including the December 24, 2016 assault on Goska community in Jema’a Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna, where about 20 people were killed and hundreds forced to flee. According to the coalition, the situation worsened during the 2023 Christmas celebrations when over 212 people were killed in attacks on communities in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau State, displacing more than 10,000 residents.
The statement further noted that during the 2024 Christmas period, about 46 worshippers were killed in Anwase, Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, pushing an additional 6,800 people into displacement and adding to what it described as over 150,000 displaced persons in the region. Ahead of the 2025 Christmas, the groups cited the kidnapping of 20 worshippers from an ECWA church in Ayetorokiri, Bunu-Kabba, Kogi State.
“This consistent pattern of Christmas-season atrocities across the Middle Belt highlights a dangerous intersection between faith-based insecurity and domestic terrorism,” the coalition said.
“It is a trend that must be urgently addressed and decisively prevented.”
The groups called on the government to immediately deploy adequate security to protect communities, churches and worshippers as Nigerians travel for the festive period. They also urged authorities to prioritise the welfare of IDPs and internally displaced communities, stressing that many continue to face loss of homes and livelihoods, lack of documentation, and heightened exposure to violence.
Among other demands, the coalition urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) to be immediately mobilised to provide food, water, shelter and physical security to displaced persons during the Christmas season. They also called for closer collaboration between statutory security agencies and local vigilante groups to improve intelligence gathering and community policing.
The organisations further appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grant assent to the domestication of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, known as the Kampala Convention.
“Domestication of the Kampala Convention will provide Nigeria with a coordinated, harmonised and rights-based framework to address the growing crisis of internal displacement,” the statement said.
“It is a critical step toward durable solutions for millions of affected citizens.”
The coalition expressed hope that the government would act urgently to prevent further attacks during the festive period and adopt long-term measures to ensure the safe, voluntary and dignified return or resettlement of displaced persons across the country.
The twenty-six signatories to the Release include: House of Justice; Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu; Gloria Mabeiam Ballason Esq; Global Rights; Abiodun Baiyewu Esq; Atrocities Watch Africa. Others are: Open Bar Initiative; The Kukah Centre; The Gideon and Funmi Para- Mallam Peace Foundation; Middle Belt Times; Resilient Aid and Dialogue Initiative (RADi); Community Development and Rights Advocacy Foundation; Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS); Ndi Kato; Steven Kefas; Bulus Y. Atsen, fsi, Esq; among others.
