Video - Farmers in Nigeria plead with government over insecurity

In Nigeria, farmers are calling on the government to make their communities safer so they can help relieve a food-security crisis in the country. The plea comes as village leaders complain they are not able to spend time tending to their crops because they fear being attacked.

CGTN

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Video - More security personnel deployed to Plateau state in Nigeria after December attacks 

Villagers missing in Nigeria two days after suspected nomadic herders kill 140

 

Video - President of Nigeria says Plateau state attack planners will be apprehended

Attacks in Nigeria's central Plateau state left nearly 160 people dead after gunmen rounded several villages over the weekend. Authorities say the raids were senseless and unprovoked. 

CGTN

Related story: Video - Why has Nigeria failed to deal with violence in Plateau State?

Villagers missing in Nigeria two days after suspected nomadic herders kill 140

Villagers missing in Nigeria two days after suspected nomadic herders kill 140

Nigerian mother-of-three Grace Godwin was preparing food on Christmas Eve when her husband burst into the kitchen and ordered her and the children to run and take cover in the bush after gunmen were spotted in a nearby village.

Soon they heard gunfire, starting an hours-long attack by suspected nomadic herders who rampaged through 15 villages in central Plateau state on Sunday, killing at least 140 people with guns and machetes, officials, police and residents said.

It was the bloodiest violence since 2018 when more than 200 people were killed in Nigeria's central region where clashes between herders and farmers are common.

"We returned at 6 the next morning and found that houses had been burnt and people killed. There are still people missing," Godwin said by phone.

"There is no one in Mayanga (village), women and children have all fled."

It was not immediately clear what triggered Sunday's attacks but violence in the region, known as the "Middle Belt", is often characterised as ethno-religious - chiefly Muslim Fulani herdsmen clashing with mainly Christian farmers.

But experts and politicians say climate change and expanding agriculture are creating competition for land, pushing farmers and herders into conflict.

Nomadic cattle herders are from northern Nigeria, which is getting drier and becoming more prone to drought and floods. That is forcing them to trek further south, where farmers are increasing production as the population rapidly expands.

That means less land for nomads and their cattle, supporting the view among local people that the conflict is based on the availability of resources rather than ethnic or religious differences.

"These attacks have been recurring. They want to drive us out of our ancestral land but we will continue to resist these assaults," said Magit Macham, who had returned from the state capital Jos to celebrate Christmas with his family.

Macham was chatting to his brother outside his house when the sputtering sound of a petrol generator was interrupted by gunshots. His brother was hit by a bullet in the leg but Macham dragged him to into the bush where they hid for the night.

"We were taken unawares and those that could run ran into the bush. A good number of those that couldn't were caught and killed with machetes," he said.

Plateau governor called the violence "unprovoked" and police said several houses, cars and motorcycles were burnt.

President Bola Tinubu, who has yet to spell out how he intends to tackle widespread security, described the attacks as "primitive and cruel" and directed police to track down those responsible.

By Hamza Ibrahim and Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Related story: Video - Over 100 kidnapped from four villages in Nigeria

At least 23 killed in Nigeria after herdsmen attack villagers

At least 23 killed in Nigeria after herdsmen attack villagers

Clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the Nigerian state of Benue left at least 23 people dead, a local official said on Thursday, the latest deadly incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in Africa's most populous country.

Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become increasingly common in recent years as population growth leads to an expansion of the area dedicated to farming, leaving less land available for open grazing by nomads' herds of cattle.

Kertyo Tyounbur, chairman of the Ukum local government area of Benue where the violence took place, gave a death toll of 23.

Local resident William Samson said the trouble started on Tuesday when villagers killed two herders and stole their cattle. This was followed by a reprisal attack by herdsmen on Wednesday on the village of Gbeji, he said.

Reuters could not verify his account from other sources in the remote rural area.

Benue is one of Nigeria's Middle Belt states, where the majority Muslim North meets the predominantly Christian South.

Competition over land use is particularly intractable in the Middle Belt as the fault lines between farmers and herders often overlap with ethnic and religious divisions.

The Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast has worsened the problem by driving herders into the Middle Belt and further south, analysts say, while climate change and increasing aridity in the North are also contributing factors.

By Chijioke Ohuocha

Reuters

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Video - How can a food security crisis be avoided in northern Nigeria?

 

Attacked by armed bandits, and being kidnapped or forced to pay levies before they can reach their farmlands. Farmers in Northern Nigeria are caught between protecting their lives, and their livelihoods. Deteriorating security in the Northwest is reducing food reserves and adding to the nation's food crisis. It's estimated output has dropped by sixty percent. The violence is compounding challenges caused by climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. The UN has warned people in parts of the Northeast are also at risk of famine.

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Boko Haram claims responsibility for kidnapping hundreds of boys in Nigeria 

Nigeria is also losing control of its troubled northwest region

Video - Over 300 schoolboys still missing after Nigeria school attack

Nigeria pays $11 million as ransom to kidnappers in four years

Civilians are stepping in to keep the peace in the deadly feud between herders and farmers

Nigeria is also losing control of its troubled northwest region

This month BBC’s Hausa language service which covers northern Nigeria reported a remarkable story of 12 Nigerian police officers being kidnapped along the Katsina-Zamfara expressway in the country’s northwest region. It was the latest in a growing list of attacks and kidnappings in Nigeria’s northwest that have often been underreported in Nigeria’s national media and almost hardly covered by the international media.

For the past decade and more, Nigeria has been battling Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram in an insurgency that has cost about 30,000 lives and displaced 2.3 million people in and around the northeast region of the country. The group, which has carried out attacks in the country’s capital Abuja as well as in neighboring countries Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, remains very active in the northeast even after splintering into the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the Jamaa’atul Ahlis Sunnah (JAS), with both carrying out attacks on civilians, aid workers, and the military.

However, for the past five years, the northwestern part of Nigeria has also become gradually engulfed by violence, with much less media coverage because these attacks have been carried out groups that have been described locally as “bandits”. These are not islamist terrorist groups with international affiliations which would more easily garner global media attentition.

Bandit is used here as a catch-all term to describe numerous groups that have carried out vicious attacks on local communities, killing scores of people, and have also been kidnapping as many as they can for ransoms. Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna states are the epicenters of the growing crisis.

The genesis of the lawlessness is not as clear-cut as the Boko Haram insurgency as it is a combination of various factors.

The northwest region makes up just over a quarter of Nigeria’s landmass and is composed of seven states, including some of Nigeria’s poorest. Zamfara and Sokoto have high poverty rates like in the northeast. But unlike the northeast, the northwest region is more homogenous in terms of ethnicity and religion: with the exception of the southern part of Kaduna State and parts of Kebbi State, it is mostly peopled by the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups, and mostly Muslim.

Most of the actors are Fulani, the ethnic group that spreads across West Africa and is known for being nomadic pastoralists, while the communities being attacked are mostly Hausa farming communities. The current violent dynamic started soon after vigilante groups formed from the Hausa communities for security purposes carried out extrajudicial action against Fulani pastoralists as tensions mounted from increasing competition for land and water resources between the pastoralists and the farmers as the effects of climate change exacerbate.

This has all coincided with an increase in cattle rustling in the regionby armed gangs, again mostly Fulani, using increasingly sophisticated weapons and staging attacks from nearby forests. It is these gangs that have now been attacking communities and killing indiscriminately in a bid to exact revenge. There is also a nexus between the banditry and illegal gold mining in Zamfara state, with the miners accused of being collaborators but have also fallen victimsto the armed gangs.

“The population in the state, which is mainly made up of herders and farmers, have been affected heavily as they have been unable to carry out their economic activities,” says Yusuf Anka, a political commentator based in Gusau, Zamfara’s state capital. “There is arbitrary taxation on the communities by the bandits before they can plant and harvest crops. Everyone in Zamfara has suffered a personal loss to this banditry.”

Given there is very little or even no state presence in most parts of the northwest region beyond its state capitals and major towns, it has become very easy for non-state actors to run rampant in the deep rural areas. It is made worse by the fact the nearby national border in the region is very porous and for many years has become a conduit for smuggling illicit drugs, weapons, and even humans. Together with a high rate of unemployment and poverty, these factors have served to ignite and sustain the seemingly unending cycle of violence.

“It has been terrible in Zandam in the Jibia local government area of Katsina state, where we’ve experienced about five attacks in the last year,” says Gidado Suleiman Farfaru, a local civil society activist in Katsina. “All the resources of the community have been wiped out.” He said three people were killed in these attacks; and another nine people have been reported as kidnapped.

An uncertain calm has returned to the farms and surrounding areas after the government sanctioned the deployment of 60 mobile policemen in the village for the last two months, says Farfaru. The BBC story of the police kidnapping highlights the risk for even uniformed security officials.

Disrupted

But the disruption is not limited to rural areas anymore as there have been numerous kidnappings on major highways in the region and even attacks in cities: for example, traveling on the 190-kilometer expressway linking Nigeria’s capital Abuja and Kaduna is fraught with risk due to the high rate of attacks on travelers. This has made the train link the safer choice for traveling and even an air shuttle servicebeing mooted.

“The deteriorating state of security in the region has also provided opportunities for jihadist groups to take advantage,” says Murtala Abdullahi, a climate, conflict, and security reporter with Humangle News. “There have been reports of the Boko Haram factions trying to extend their reach from the Lake Chad region while groups active in neighboring countries such as Mali, Niger Republic, and Burkina Faso are getting increasingly active close to the region.”

The insecurity is also impacting Nigeria’s agricultural production and food security with more farmers abandoning their farms due to fears of being attacked.

“The insecurity in the northwest is causing significant problems for farmers. In many areas, they now pay bandits to have access to their farms in order to harvest—with fees often ranging in the hundreds of thousands of naira,” says Ikemesit Effiong, the head of research at SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical consultancy based in Lagos. “Even with this quasi-taxation, security is not always guaranteed.”


Effiong is worried about a fast deteriorating situation. “Food insecurity is now a national emergency and the federal and state governments in the northwest need to urgently and closely cooperate to re-establish an adequate security presence in farming areas, so normal activities can resume.”

To be clear, in its efforts to restore security to the region, the Nigerian government has launched numerous military operations over the past four years but with an overstretched military that is deployed in multiple concurrent operations across the whole country, the impact of these operations has been very limited.

“Military approach is important but it needs to be done in a way that is not excessive and targets only the right persons,” says Abdullahi. “Other approaches need to be utilized as well, addressing surrounding issues such as justice, rural development, and state presence, and improving livelihood.”


Other approaches such as a peace deal brokered with the bandits by state governors in the region only held together for a few months before it collapsed, leading to at least one state officially pulling out of the deal. This is likely due to the fragmented nature of the actors in the conflict with so many groups involved such that it is hard to have an agreement binding on all of them.

By Mark Amaza

Quartz Africa

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Video - The war between farmers and cattle herders in Nigeria

Land disputes fuel herdsmen violence in Nigeria

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Video - Conflict between herdsmen and farmers remains deadly in Nigeria

Villages in Nigeria continue to bear the brunt of clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers. Attacks carried out by Fulani militants killed more people in 2018 than Boko Haram. CGTN's Phil Ihaza has more on the growing security concern.

Video - Nigeria works to end violence in 'Wild West'

After years of military action in north-west Nigeria, the government is choosing dialogue to end killings and kidnapping mainly by nomadic cattle herders. Government officials say they want to tackle the injustices that fueled the crisis in the first place.

Six hacked to death in Nigerian market by suspected herdsmen

Six traders were hacked to death and at least 17 others wounded in an attack at a local market in Nigeria's northeastern state of Taraba, according to local police and residents on Wednesday.

Local authorities have ordered the closure of the Iware market in Ardo-Kola area of the state following the incident on Tuesday.

Taraba police spokesman David Misal said an investigation has been launched to arrest the perpetrators and confirm the motive of the gruesome attack.

So far, no arrest has been made in connection with the killing.

Misal said the information available to the police indicated that the attackers struck in retaliation for an alleged rustling of their cattle.

"The attackers claimed that the cows they (the traders) brought to the market were their cows, stolen during a recent conflict in another area of the state," he said.

Local residents told Xinhua there was pandemonium at the local market as the attackers went on the rampage. Most traders abandoned their wares as they ran to safety.

"We gathered that the killers trailed their victims from Lau, one of the areas where there was a recent farmer-herders conflict," said Jipsari Mohammed, a survivor.

Clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria have left hundreds dead in the past few months.

The majority of farmer-herder clashes have occurred between Muslim Fulani herdsmen and Christian peasants, exacerbating ethno-religious hostilities.

Xinhua

Death toll increases to 200 after attacks in central Nigeria

Over 200 people have died in Nigeria's central state of Plateau where gunmen attacked many villages last weekend, according to a local lawmaker and the media on Wednesday.

Peter Gyedeng, a member of Plateau State's parliament, said over 200 of his constituents died in the attack.

"Over 200 innocent citizens of my constituency were killed...this is barbaric and evil. This is happening even when we have security all over the state," Gyedeng told reporters in Jos, the state capital.

The lawmaker alleged "genocide and ethnic cleansing" against his constituents.

The attacks, which started on Saturday, continued on Monday in another area of the state, despite a dawn-to-dusk curfew imposed by the government.

Local police on Sunday confirmed only 86 people were killed and six others severely wounded. Meanwhile, 50 houses, two cars, and 15 motorcycles were razed, the police added. However, residents said more than 140 bodies were buried during a mass funeral on the same day.

More than 11 villages were targeted by the gunmen during these coordinated attacks, which mostly affected Razat, Nekan, Ruku, Nyarr, Kufang, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi area of Plateau, Terna Tyopev, the spokesman for Plateau police, said.

The local Vanguard Newspaper on Wednesday reported that Ruku Village recorded more deaths in the attack, with at least 47 victims.

President of Nigeria's Senate Bukola Saraki on Wednesday arrived in the city of Jos to commiserate with Governor Simon Lalong and families of the victims.

Saraki's visit was also to do an on-the-spot assessment of the carnage.

On Tuesday, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari was also in the city to mourn the victims. Buhari's condolence visit was preceded by that of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who led a federal government delegation to Plateau following the attacks.

Plateau State is located in Nigeria's middle belt where the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south meet.

There had been a long time strife in the central state between indigenous groups, mostly Christian or animist, and migrants and settlers from the Hausa-speaking Muslim over the control of fertile farmlands.

Earlier in the week, one regional head of a local cattle breeders group had opined that those who carried out the attacks in Plateau might be on a revenge mission.

Danladi Ciroma, the head of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in the north-central region, said there had been recent reports of cow rustling and destruction of farms between local farmers and herdsmen.

"The people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but the communities are hiding them," Ciroma said in a statement.

This incident was not the first herdsmen-farmers conflict in the most populous African country, whose estimated nearly 200 million people are divided into at least 200 distinct ethnic groups and about evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

On March 7, 2010, members of local Muslim and Christian communities fought each other in revenge for previous killings.

In November 2008, clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs triggered by a disputed local government election killed hundreds of people in Jos and rendered thousands of people homeless.

According to media reports, hundreds of people died in clashes in the town of Yelwa in Plateau State in 2004, while in September 2001, ethnic and religious rioting in Jos had killed at least 915 people, according to official statistics.

On the other hand, Plateau has witnessed some bomb blasts, too, apart from the constant rifts between local farmers and herdsmen, with many, especially women and children, losing their lives.

The herders, pressured with the effects of climate change and others, are forced southward into the farming communities in search of better resources of grazing.

The threats posed by the fighting between herders and farmers as provided by some accounts have been more serious than those from Nigeria's Boko Haram extremist insurgency.

The conflict in the region has weighed upon the government and other political forces as general elections approach next year.

Xinhua

Video - Nigerian police deploy special force to bring order in central plateau

The Nigerian government says it has deployed a Special Intervention Force to restore peace in the central plateau region that saw violence over the weekend.

Farmers and Herders clash leaves 86 dead in Nigeria

At least 86 people have died in central Nigeria after violent clashes broke out between farmers and cattle herders, police in Plateau state said.

Some reports say fighting began on Thursday when ethnic Berom farmers attacked Fulani herders, killing five of them.

A retaliatory attack on Saturday led to more deaths.

The area has a decades-long history of violence between ethnic groups competing for land.

Earlier, dozens of people were killed in a similar round of violence between Fulani herders and local hunters in Mali.

A curfew has now been imposed in three parts of Plateau state.

State police commissioner Undie Adie said a search of villages following the bloodshed revealed that 86 people had been killed, and six injured.

He said 50 houses had been burned, as well as 15 motorbikes and two vehicles.

The Plateau state government said the curfew would be in place between 18:00 and 06:00 local time (17:00 to 05:00 GMT) in the Riyom, Barikin Ladi and Jos South areas "to avert a breakdown of law and order".

Tit-for-tat clashes erupt into warfare

Analysis by the BBC's Stephanie Hegarty, in Lagos

It's an age-old conflict that has recently taken on a new level of brutality.

In Nigeria's central region settled farming communities and nomadic cattle herders often clash - usually over access to land and grazing rights.

But these tit-for-tat clashes have erupted into inter-communal warfare, killing thousands in the last year.

This region, where the Muslim north meets the Christian south is prone to religious tension - herders are ethnic Fulani and mostly Muslim, while the farmers are mostly Christian.

But it's not clear why this spike in violence is happening right now. Nigeria's president has repeatedly blamed the escalation on an increase in gun-running from Libya.

Others blame security forces' failures in a country busy fighting two insurgences - Boko Haram in the north and militants in the oil-producing south.

The state's governor Simon Lalong said work was under way "to secure the affected communities and fish out perpetrators of these crimes".

"While we pray for God's guidance through this difficult time, we will do everything humanly possible to secure our state immediately," he said.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari - himself a Fulani - is under increasing pressure to address the tensions ahead of elections in 2019.

In January he ordered the head of police to relocate to the country's middle belt to manage clashes there.

Special forces were also deployed to the central states of Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba to "secure vulnerable communities and prevent further attacks".

Who are the Fulani herdsmen?

They are believed to be the largest semi-nomadic group in the world, and are found across West and Central Africa - from Senegal to the Central African Republic.

In Nigeria, some continue to live as semi-nomadic herders, while other have moved to cities.

The nomadic groups spend most of their lives in the bush.

They herd their animals across vast areas, frequently clashing with farming communities.

BBC

13 killed by herdsmen in Nigeria

At least 13 people have been killed by gunmen in two separate attacks in central Nigeria’s Benue state, an area that has recently seen a wave of deadly clashes, officials said.

In one attack, attackers, who officials said were armed herdsmen, stormed the Tseadough village in the Kwande area shortly after midnight while people were asleep.

They killed seven people, including women and children, Terdoo Nyor Kenti, a local government leader, told AFP news agency.

"From what I gathered, they opened fire and shot sporadically in all directions which rattled everyone," Kenti said.

"Seven people were killed at the end, six others were injured while the herdsmen also went away with a woman after burning several houses and farmland in the area," he added.

In a separate attack on Sunday, six people were killed in what was described by local residents as cult violence in the twon of Otukpo on Sunday, according to officials.

"I am still expecting a clearer picture about this because the police have deployed their personnel," George Alli, a local official, said.

Disputes over territory in central Nigeria have killed more than 300 people in the past two years. Hundreds of thousands of people have also been displaced.

Al Jazeera

Video - Conflict in northern Nigeria partly linked to climate change

The African Union's Peace and Security Council is due to discuss the link between climate change and conflict in Africa. The problem's particularly acute in Nigeria, and has been blamed for the growing deadly conflict between herders and farmers, in recent months.

Video - Nigeria's Fulani-farmer conflict displaces many

Disputes over territory in central Nigeria have left hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Aid workers now fear a growing humanitarian crisis in Benue state.

Video - Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria blamed for attack on church

Disputes over territory are escalating elsewhere in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari's government is under pressure to prevent such attacks, ahead of elections next year. Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reports from Benue state, where an attack on a church is dividing a community that has lived peacefully for generations.

Regional leaders meet in Abuja, Nigeria seek end to land tensions

West African leaders are meeting for talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja. They're seeking solutions to the conflict over land resources in the region. One of the suggestions is banning the un-registered movement of animals across West Africa.

Video - Another deadly raid reported in Nigeria's Benue State

There has reportedly been another attack in Nigeria's Benue State. At least seven people have apparently been killed in a raid on a church and a primary school in the Logo area. It comes just a day after at least 16 people -- including two Catholic priests -- were killed in a church in the village of Ayar Mbalom, also in Benue state. The government has yet to confirm this latest raid. It's believed unknown gunmen opened fire at the victims, who had been taking refuge in the church after being displaced from their homes during earlier violence.

President Buhari summoned to Senate over church killings

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been summoned by the Senate over a spate of killings in the country's middle belt.

The lawmakers are yet to set a date for the president's appearance but said violence in Nigeria's central states could lead to "serious crisis" in the country.

"We all know that the dimension this is taking can lead to serious crisis in this country. It means we need to take drastic action. We must say 'no'. These daily killings, have to stop," said Bukola Saraki, Nigeria's Senate leader.

Members of the country's lower parliament who had invited the President Wednesday also passed a vote of no confidence in service chiefs and security advisers, calling for their dismissal over their inability to protect Nigerians.

The lawmakers said could no longer watch "our people are murdered in cold blood" and urged government to increase security measures in affected areas.

"We also resolved to summon the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Muhammadu Buhari in order to answer pertinent questions concerning what the Executive is doing to put a decisive end to the spate of killings in different states of the Federation," said Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives.

Buhari's media aide did not immediately respond to CNN's request for a comment. 

The president is currently on a two-day working visit to Bauchi State, in north central Nigeria, where he is commissioning road projects and an air force medical facility, according to local media reports.
In the latest wave of violence to hit the middle belt region in recent months, two priests and 17 worshippers were killed Tuesday when armed men attacked a Catholic church during early morning mass in a remote village in Benue state.

The attackers razed over 50 houses in an attempt to take over the community, state police said. State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN the attackers were thought to be Fulani cattle herdsmen,
Bello Bodejo, head of the cattle herders association, Miyetti Allah, denied the group's involvement in the attacks.

He called on the police and security agencies to investigate and reveal the identities of the attackers to put an end to speculation about his group's involvement.

"We are condemning Tuesday's attack because it is not acceptable. But we want a thorough investigation because every time there is an attack in the middle belt, they say it is Fulani people that caused it," he said in a phone interview with CNN.

"Many Fulani herdsman are not educated or organized enough to speak out against these accusations and this is why socio-cultural organizations like ours are appealing to Nigerians to assist us to get to the root of these attacks."

The violence between the Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, in the central state dates back to 2013. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 Nigerians between 2012 and 2016.

Cattle herders have evicted farmers by initiating deadly attacks in Nigeria's middle belt, the report from the Institute for Economics & Peace, a non-profit think tank, said.

The expanding conflict between herders and farmers in the region led to the enforcement of anti-grazing laws by local governments , a move that has exacerbated tensions in affected states.

At least 72 people were killed in January following weeks of violence between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in the central part of the West African country.

Buhari, who is ethnically Fulani, has been widely criticized by Nigerians for his perceived silence over previous attacks in Benue state. 

He visited the state in March to console families and communities involved and has vowed to bring those responsible for Tuesday's attack to justice.

"This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," Buhari said in a tweet.

International Christian rights organizations have also spoken out about what they see as persecution of some Nigerians because of their faith. 

David Curry, president of Open Doors Christian Rights group, condemned Tuesday's attacks and stated that Christians are being targeted in north and central states in Nigeria. 

He urged US President Donald Trump to discuss these "religious attacks" during his meeting with Buhari later this month.

"President Buhari has done nothing more than issue empty words of condolence as villages have been burned and thousands of religious minorities have been slaughtered. 

His inaction has meant attacks by the Fulani are becoming more deadly and sophisticated," Curry said in a statement Wednesday.

Buhari will meet Trump in Washington April 30 to discuss ways of combating terrorism, promoting economic growth among other issues.

CNN

Video - Attack on church in Nigeria leaves 19 dead

At least 19 people were killed Tuesday after gunmen opened fire at a church in Nigeria's Middle Belt, police said.

 
Two priests and 17 worshippers were killed when armed men, believed to be cattle herders, stormed a Catholic church during early morning Mass on Tuesday in a remote village in Benue state.
State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN the attackers, thought to be Fulani herdsmen, set many homes on fire.

 
"The herdsmen burnt nearly 50 houses during the attack and sacked the entire community, " Akase told CNN. "We expect arrests to be made because they (attackers) are becoming more brazen," he added.

According to Akase, 10 residents were killed by armed men a few days before Tuesday's attack.
Violent clashes between the Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, in the central state dates to 2013, according to local media reports.
Cattle herders have evicted farmers by initiating deadly attacks in Nigeria's Middle Belt, media reports say.

At least 72 people were killed in January following weeks of clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in the central part of the West African country.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari who visited the state last month to console families and communities that suffered from violent clashes, vowed those involved in Tuesday's attack will be apprehended and brought to justice.

"This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," Buhari said in a tweet.

A local Benue group expressed concerns over the increased spate of killings, calling for an "end to senseless slaughter of unarmed defenseless people" in the country.

"We call on all humane persons and groups around the world to come to the aid of our farming and worship communities and end these terror attacks across Nigeria and especially in Benue, our food basket, which also threatens our collective food security," the Benue Valley Professional Network said in a statement.

CNN