On the recent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria

B90105/2024

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the recent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria

(2024/2552(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas series of attacks by gunmen on multiple rural communities in Plateau State on Christmas Eve killed at least 150 people;

whereas the conflict is increasingly described in religious terms, while the perpetrators are yet to be identified and several factors are to be taken into account such as competition for land fuelled by rapid climate change and the failure of authorities to hold to account those responsible for violence;

whereas prior to the Christmas Eve, attacks have been happening in other northern Nigerian communities in Benue, Taraba, Niger, and Borno, resulting in the killing of hundreds of people and the displacement of scores of women, children and older people;

whereas since the beginning of Nigeria’s conflict with the Islamist armed group Boko Haram in 2009, more than two million people have been displaced in the country’s northeast;

whereas 40% of the Nigerian population live in poverty, mostly concentrated in the North and in rural areas; whereas the oil and gas sector accounts for 80 % of total revenue to the government; whereas thousands of Nigerian villagers has been affected by the contamination of the water they drink, the land they grow food on and the air they breathe;

Strongly condemns all type of murderous attacks across Nigeria and expresses its solidarity with the Nigerian people;

Warns against an instrumentalisation of the farmers-herders conflict for spreading religion-based hatred; calls on the Nigerian authorities to take meaningful steps to identify and address all root causes of the violence in Plateau state, such as competition for scarce resources, environmental degradation and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into all the Plateau attacks, ensure accountability by bringing the perpetrators to justice in fair trials and provide a remedy to the victims;

In a context of high levels of poverty in northern Nigeria, urges the Nigerian authorities to ensure fair repartition of revenues to all the regions and provide better education and health care services in the north;

Urges the Nigerian authorities to guarantee respect for human rights in the country, and to protect the civilian population from terrorism, violence and pollution; Recalls that women and children are most vulnerable to the effects of conflict, terrorism and violence in the country; Is extremely concerned at rapidly intensifying climate change in Nigeria and its impact on livelihoods;

Calls on the EU to ensure humanitarian assistance for those affected and displaced by the violence and climate change in Nigeria with adequate relief, including protection, shelter, food, healthcare;

Calls on the Commission to ensure that EU funding is spent effectively to promote legal migration pathways and thus avoid perilous journeys through the Sahara and Mediterranean and criminalisation of migrants;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution.