Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse federation of 36 autonomous states and the Federal Capital Territory. The political landscape is partly dominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC), which controls the executive arm of government and holds majority seats at both the Senate and House of Representatives in parliament and majority of the States. […]
The research registered killings and abductions of civilians, including their religious backgrounds (Christian, Muslim or African Traditional Religionist), age and gender, in the context of an ongoing “culture of violence” created by “terror groups” such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in the West Africa Province (ISWAP), armed Fulani herders, “bandits” and other, smaller groups. Where possible, the research recorded the alleged perpetrators from the “terror groups.”
The data sheds light on the reality of violence in Nigeria and brings to attention fresh information about the nature and scale of religiously motivated violence in Nigeria, and the response (or lack of it) from the Nigerian government. In the context of this essay, we distinguish between the religious background of the civilian victims because a variety of contradictory analyses exist concerning the causes of violence in Nigeria, raising issues surrounding the right to the truth.
