Nigeria: Concerns over violence raised

Concerns about ongoing violence have been raised with Nigerian officials at a breakfast event during Nigeria’s first state visit to the UK in 37 years.

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu and his wife recently embarked on the trip and high-level British officials were urged to confront him about problems facing the nation, including the well-documented persecution of Christians.

The International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ UK), which works to promote peace, social justice and human rights in Nigeria, has revealed that such issues were discussed at a “high-level breakfast policy dialogue” at the UK Parliament, featuring key Nigerian officials.

Organisers sought to ensure discussion concerning the millions of Nigerians affected by insecurity and displacement was not neglected during the visit and that such discussion would “translate into measurable improvements” for the vulnerable.

Discussion commenced as violence continued to rage in Nigeria. Twenty-seven, many of whom were believers, were shot and killed in Plateau State on Palm Sunday, while several other incidents have also been reported in recent weeks.

Chris Sugden, Canon of Jos, Nigeria, told en that such meetings were important to generate more coverage of the nation’s predicament. He said: “It is alleged that state authorities in Nigeria are complicit in standing back and allowing attacks to go unpunished. Therefore, the visit provided an opportunity to highlight this continued insecurity and violence that ordinary people experience and advocate for ways of dealing with it.”

PSJ UK made several recommendations to the Nigerian government, including the need for a better policy relating to millions of displaced people, better resettlement frameworks and the addressing of “structural drivers” of some of the country’s problems.

Sugden revealed that hearing about these discussions has encouraged Nigerian church leaders. He now hopes “that the voices of the people affected are heard, that policymakers are engaged with the real lived experiences of Nigerian people and that practical pathways for peace, security and social justice are taken forward.”