The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Nigeria.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE and Greens/EFA groups.
It is estimated that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and culturally diverse nation (its population having grown from 33 million in 1950 to about 190 million today), is set to become the world’s third most populous country, just behind China and India, by 2050.
The country’s Middle Belt has suffered years of economic and political tension between ethnic and religious communities, with the recent violence fuelled by competition for power and access to land between pastoralist and farming communities.
Peace and stability in northern Nigeria have been threatened by the continuing attacks, murders and kidnappings perpetrated by the Islamist group Boko Haram since 2009 with over 20 000 people killed and more than 2 million displaced, including to neighbouring countries, since Boko Haram began its attacks.
Parliament is deeply concerned by the increasing interethnic conflicts between pastoralists and farmers in the Middle Belt region which have increased the security challenges already facing Nigeria. It regretted the lack of real progress in addressing these issues. It strongly condemned the increase in violence against Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, including the targeting of religious institutions and worshippers.
In this regard, the Nigerian Government is called on to:
- increase efforts to bring the violence to an end, defend Nigerians’ right to worship freely and protect the rights of all their citizens more rigorously;
- focus on upholding human rights and dignity in all policies to ensure peaceful coexistence among citizens irrespective of their religion, beliefs and political affiliations;
- negotiate a national policy framework that would protect the interests of both farmers and herders and on international partners to increase investment in preventing and resolving intercommunal conflicts between cattle pastoralists and farmers by supporting cooperation through shared economic and natural resource management initiatives;
- defend its citizens from terrorism while respecting human rights and the rule of law;
- reform the Nigerian state security forces, including the police, and conduct investigations into those who are responsible for any human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and extortion-related abuses;
- address the root causes of the violence by ensuring equal rights for all citizens and non-discriminatory legislation;
- improve the efficiency and independence of Nigeria’s judiciary system to enable the effective use of criminal justice to combat violence, terrorism and corruption;
Parliament urged the Nigerian authorities to:
- provide the necessary psychosocial support to the victims of the scourge of radicalisation, especially women, children and young people, before reintegrating them back into society;
- implement a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to its abolition.
Lastly, Parliament called on the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Member States to monitor the reintegration of Nigerian returnees from Libya and to ensure that the EU funding foreseen is spent effectively and to inform it about these reintegration measures.