The office of World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in Geneva participated in the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review on Nigeria, with an oral statement.

WEA communications and advocacy officer, Markus Hofer pointed out that their partners on the ground reported on “patterns of repeated violence, resulting in wiping out of entire areas of their native population, their houses, farmland, and places of worship and in the mass displacement of thousands of individuals”.

The statement denounces that Nigerian government “has failed to prevent and protect civilians from the increase of brutal acts of violence of which many Nigerians are victims, but most particularly Christians, with impunity”.

“Disarm violent groups and boost security”

That is why the WEA urged the government to “disarm members of violent armed groups including Fulani herdsmen, boost security presence in Middle Belt vulnerable communities; investigate the perpetrators of violence, hold them accountable to the justice system and break the cycle of violence that is expanding”.

They called on Nigerian authorities to ensure “the safe return of those displaced by violence in the Middle Belt to their homes”, as well as “the human rights of those accused of blasphemy”.

The WEA also recommended to “address recurring inter-communal violence by conducting impartial, comprehensive investigations into systematic attacks, encouraging peacebuilding, and ensuring redress for victims and survivors”.