Stop This Madness!
(A Press Statement following the
Massacre of Innocent Citizens in
Nimbo, by Suspected Fulani Herdsmen)
" A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting
and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel
weeping for her children, refusing to
be comforted for her children,
because they are no more. " (Jer
31:15).
This passage from the Prophet
Jeremiah captures the present mood
in Nsukka and, especially, in the
hitherto quiet and peaceful farming
community of Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani
Local Government Area. When the
news broke about the massacre of
innocent, unarmed and defenceless
citizens of Nimbo in the early hours
of Monday 25 April by invading armed
militants, suspected to be Fulani
herdsmen, the first question that
popped into my mind was: "Again?"
This was because similar stories had
been heard from many parts of the
country in recent times, including
Abbi, another community in our
Diocese, also in Uzo-Uwani Local
Government Area. The news of the
attack was soon followed by a flood of
human beings fleeing their homes and
emptying into the urban centre of
Nsukka, many of them scantily clad
women clutching only their babies.
Wailing filled the air as vans brought
in lifeless bodies of persons who were
slaughtered like animals for the crime
of having been found in their homes
or on the way to their farms. Such
scenes sent the minds of the older
ones back to similar scenes in 1966,
when our people had to flee the
places they had considered their
homes in other parts of the country,
as a result of the first ethnic
cleansing in modern African history.
The big difference now, 50 years
after, is that we are being chased
out of our homes in our own land,
from our own farms, from our
Churches, from our schools and from
our village markets. As our people
say, if a man is pursued from outside,
he runs into his house; but when he
is pursued from his house, he has no
place to run to.
The most painful aspect of the Nimbo
massacre is that it was announced,
expected and executed without
inhibition – in broad daylight! The
State Government is reported to have
made attempts to provide security in
the area prior to the incident. But
what those who lost their dear ones
(especially those little babies now
blankly staring into an uncertain
future, because their fathers have
been senselessly murdered) and all of
us want to know is why, as the
reports go, the security forces
"tactically" withdrew shortly before
the attack and why, when they later
returned to the scene, there was no
attempt to immediately pursue and
arrest the perpetrators.
At present, nobody can say with
certainty the number of those killed,
given that more of those who were
badly wounded are still dying and
some bodies are still being recovered
from the bush where the people had
been killed while taking refuge.
Today, Nimbo is like a ghost town. It
is equally disturbing that whereas
the invading militants killed and
maimed anybody they could find, the
only houses they attacked were
Christian religious houses.
They burnt the house of one Pastor
and from there headed straight to
the residence of the Catholic Priest,
where they attempted to burn the
house but could not, since they did
not find any petrol in the car and a
motorcycle parked there, in the
generator, and in the containers.
When their attempt to break into the
house also failed, they fired gunshots
into the rooms, in an attempt to kill
all those whom they suspected were
hiding inside. And we are forced to
ask: If these men were only
herdsmen, why did they particularly
single out Churches for their attack?
Nsukka people are peace-loving
people. Why would anybody single
them out for this type of massacre?
In the name of God, I appeal to my
peace-loving people to please remain
law abiding and not to take the law
into their hands. But even as I do
this, I hear them asking aloud: Are
there really any laws in this country
guaranteeing the safety of our life
and property even in our homes? If
there are, is there anybody out
there ready to enforce them? Or has
this become a lawless country where
violent persons can kidnap and kill,
rob and rape innocent citizens in
their homes, on the road, in their
farms, at any time of the day or
night, unhindered? How are we
supposed to react to these threats to
our very survival as a people when
the Federal Government, who
controls the security agencies, seems
unwilling to protect us and the State
Government appears incapable of
defending us, since it has no control
over these agencies?
Our young people are asking us why
the Police and the Armed Forces of
the Federal Government are so swift
and sometimes so high-handed in
their reaction when unarmed persons
march the streets in protest in the
South East and so heavy-footed when
it comes to stopping the massacre of
the South Easterners anywhere in
the country, even in their own
homes. They are asking whether Boko
Haram has actually been weakened or
has only been redeployed from the
North East to the South East. And we
are scratching our heads in vain for
the correct answers.
While we wait for these answers, we
shout a loud and an absolute "NO!" to
any form of violence even in the face
of this persistent provocation.
Reprisal attacks are not the answer.
They are wrong; they are unlawful;
they are un-Christian. Besides, we
should not give the Police and the
Army any excuses for adding to our
woes, as they are sure to respond
rapidly to any perceived form of
aggression on our part.
We appreciate the position taken by
President Muhammadu Buhari on this
latest war-like attack on a peaceful
community and hope that his
directives will be carried out
promptly. Protection of life and
property of citizens is the primary
responsibility of government and
every other act of governance would
lose its meaning if this was not
guaranteed. We are consoled by what
the President said. But only concrete
actions can lead to the return of
normalcy in the community. Nimbo and
its neighbouring communities are
among the few remaining farming
communities in our area and the
herdsmen had earlier chased the
people out of their larger farms.
The rains have just started and they
had begun work in the smaller farms
nearer to their homes. And even from
there too they have now been chased
out. It is sad that in these hard
times, when many have been crushed
by the harsh economic conditions in
the country, in addition to the loss of
loved ones, many of our people are
now homeless and all of us will also
face the problem of acute food
shortage in the near future.
We call on the Federal Government
not only to arrest and prosecute the
perpetrators of the massacre as well
as their sponsors and collaborators,
as the President has directed, but
also to disarm all those who carry
assault rifles publicly when they have
no permission to bear arms. Some
people predicted that Nigeria would be
a failed State by the year 2015. All of
us heaved a sigh of relief after the
general elections and the smooth
handover last year. But any further
delay in dealing with this and similar
cases all over the country may lead
those who made that prediction to
affirm that its realization has only
been delayed not avoided. If these
incessant attacks and raids going on
in many parts of the country are not
stopped immediately, it may happen
that by the time our President has
won the war against corruption,
there will no longer be any Nigeria
left for him to govern.
We thank Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
for the efforts he made to prevent
the tragedy and for his timely
interventions after, without which
more lives would certainly have been
lost. We expect, however, that he
will use the tools at his disposal to
prevent its reoccurrence in any part
of the State and to find out why,
despite his efforts and prior
information, the security agents
failed to protect the lives of innocent
citizens. To our Senator Chuka Utazi,
we say "Gbagaa!", in all the meanings
of that word, for what he has been
and done for his people during this
time of crisis. We also thank the
Inspector General of Police Solomon
Arase, for promptly visiting Nimbo and
for promising to bring those
responsible for the massacre to book.
But we are forced to wonder whether
it does not bother him that some
herdsmen in this country are better
armed than some of our Policemen.
Does it mean that the lives of cattle
in some parts of the country are
worth more than the lives of human
beings in some other parts?
The Catholic Diocese of Nsukka is in
mourning for her dead children and in
pains for the displaced ones. We are
also living in fear because we do not
know where and when the armed
militants will strike next. In the
meantime, we shall do what we can to
offer some help to the displaced
persons, relying on the usual
generosity of our people. But we
have absolute faith in the abiding
presence of God among us. In these
difficult and trying times, all of us,
especially those who have lost dear
ones, should know that God is even
nearer to us than we thought. Let us
turn to him in prayer, asking him to
receive our dead ones in his kingdom
and heal our bleeding hearts.
We direct that Masses and prayers be
offered in all the Churches in the
Diocese next Sunday, while awaiting
the detailed programme for our
prayer in this period which will be
announced later. As good Christians,
we should, like our Lord Jesus Christ,
pray for those who persecute and kill
us: "Father, forgive them; they do
not know what they are doing" (Lk
23:34). We also pray for those whose
responsibility it is to protect and
defend us. We are sure that in no
distant time we shall also hear the
voice of the Lord saying to us: «Stop
your weeping dry your eyes… There is
hope for your future after all… your
children will return to their
homeland» (Jer 31:16-17).
Nigeria is a country richly blessed by
God with abundant human and natural
resources. For decades we have
continued to senselessly slaughter
ourselves, squander our resources
and destroy our environment. We call
on all to please stop this madness, so
that, as a people, we may realize our
full potentials for the benefit of all
and to the glory of God.

Prof Godfrey Igwebuike ONAH
( Catholic Bishop of Nsukka )
Friday 29 April 2016

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