Press Release
The Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue condemned Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians in Nigeria and their attacks on churches during Christmas celebrations and stressed that Nigerian authorities should confront terrorist groups and extremist elements that threaten the right to life and freedom of worship in Nigeria.
The extremist group Boko Haram attacked Nigeria’s predominantly Christian state of Borno during Christmas celebrations and burned down the church, killing at least 11 people, abducting a priest and stealing medical supplies from a hospital before burning it.
The decade-long conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government has killed at least 36,000 people and displaced 2 million people from their homes, according to UN reports.
The Forum stated that the attacks were part of a series of terrorist attacks against Nigeria due to the extremist group Boko Haram’s expansion and its attempt to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state, as well as kidnapping underage girls and forcing them to marry members of the extremist group at gunpoint, which is a violation of the child rights system.
The Forum calls on the relevant UN agencies and the African Union to cooperate with Nigeria to combat the expansion of the terrorist group in the north of the country, especially since it has cross-border crimes and threatens the African countries around Nigeria. It has additionally called for a decisive confrontation with the group’s ideas, drying up its sources of support with arms and money and halting the recruitment of fighters in the rest of Africa so as not to pose a threat to the future of the African continent and its ongoing development processes.
