English born Nigerian environmental and human rights activist, Mrs. Ann-Kio Briggs on has said that the killings going in Benue State and parts of the northern region were well planned and systematic cleansing of Christians by the herdsmen.
Briggs who is also the Convener of Niger Delta Self Determination Movement, NDSDM and who spoke to our correspondent in a telephone conversation, said that killings going in the northern part of the country will escalate to the Southern parts of the country if nothing is done.
She blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for encouraging the wanton killings, adding that the herdsmen are having their way because of the level of cover-up from the leadership of the country.
She said, “These are very strategic well planned and well carried out marshall killings that are going on and it is genocidal in nature. I believe that this is a systematic cleansing of Christians like TY Danjuma said and i agree with him. I also agree with him that there must be a level of cooperation between the people who are coming in from outside the country and powers that be in high place in and out of Nigeria.
“If these people are coming from outside Nigeria, then they must have passed through some countries. They are crossing borders and this is true, it means there is an invasion on our country by foreigners and their targets are Christians. Their mission is to take over the lands of Christians in the northern Nigeria down to the middle belt.”
She further said that the attacks are carried against the people of Benue to starve the people of the South since Benue State is described as the food basket of the nation, adding that as a result of this food insecurity, it was high time the South left the country and be on their own.
Briggs said, “The other worry that I have is the fact that the middle belt is described as the food basket of the nation some us from the southern part of the country have border between the middle belt. For example, we have border between Kogi State and Bayelsa State. I am of the opinion that anybody that is living in the Niger Delta region and he or she thinks that the killings going on north will end in the north, should think again. These killings will not stop in the middle belt. It will cross into the South West, The South East and the Niger Delta which are predominantly Christian state. Also we have to take into cognizance that it is only one state in the Niger Delta region that we have the ruling party.”
“If you can remember when Jonathan was the President that was one of the first things they said. They said if Jonathan wanted to rule peacefully, he should change his religion. We should not forget these things easily. We should not forget that those in power today have come out to say people should not vote for people who are not of the same faith with them. President Buhari and Shagari have said that in the past that that should not vote for infidels and these are all documented.
“So, we cannot continue to pretend that we are in a country that is united. This is a country that since 2018, there is no single week that has past without an attack on a community. Yesterday, 16 villages were attacked and I begin to wonder how you can attack 16 villages within 24 hours period. This is horrific and to imagine that a priests and others were killed inside a church. So we must agree that we can no longer live together. We have to accept that we can no longer live together, and we should stop accepting the deceit that Nigeria is a united country because Nigeria is not united,” she added.
