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resolution motion, 5 February 2024

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

Motion B-9-2024-0101 · (2024/2552(RSP))

on behalf of The Left Group · Rapporteur: Miguel Urbán Crespo

On Parliament’s site PDF Word

AI:In short

Parliament's motion for a resolution condemns the Christmas Eve attacks in Plateau State, Nigeria, which killed nearly 200 people and displaced more than 18,000, and calls for civilian protection, investigations and humanitarian aid. It warns against portraying the violence as a religious conflict, demands action on root causes such as land access and climate change, and urges the EU to reach climate neutrality by 2040.

Key points

  1. Strongly condemns the escalating inter-ethnic violence between herders and farmers that has killed and displaced thousands.
  2. Warns against using the conflict to spread religion-based hatred and regrets that violence over land access is wrongly depicted as a religious conflict.
  3. Calls on Nigerian authorities to protect civilians and ensure security forces do not commit further abuse when responding to violence.
  4. Demands Nigerian authorities address root causes, prevent repetition, and promote dialogue and peaceful coexistence between communities.
  5. Calls for prompt, impartial investigations to prosecute those responsible and ensure victims have access to remedies and full reparation.
  6. Urges donors to increase humanitarian aid, including protection, shelter, food and health care.
  7. Condemns the climate crisis and historical plundering of natural resources in Africa, and says green transition announcements are insufficient without prior wealth redistribution.
  8. Urges the European Union to reach climate neutrality by 2040 with a just and inclusive transition.

Who is affected

  • Nigerian authorities, who are called on to protect civilians, investigate violence, and address root causes.
  • Donors, who are urged to increase humanitarian aid.
  • The European Union, which is urged to reach climate neutrality by 2040.
  • Victims of the violence, who should have access to remedies and full reparation.

Figures and deadlines

  • Attacks between 23 and 26 December killed nearly 200 people and displaced more than 18,000.
  • An attack on 24 January killed more than 50 people and displaced more than 20,000.
  • The EU is urged to reach climate neutrality by 2040.

Written by AI from the full text · every figure comes from the text · ¶ opens the paragraph · 26 Sept 2026 · Report a problem

Full text

Text 18 paragraphs

B90101/2024

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 coordinated attacks launched between 23 and 26 December in Nigeria's Plateau State, killed nearly 200 people and displaced more than 18.000; whereas another attack on 24 January killed more than 50 people and displaced more than 20.000; whereas the attacks have also resulted in the destruction of homes, farmlands, and economic livelihoods and has caused a significant humanitarian crisis;

whereas according to the UN, "inter-communal conflicts" in the Plateau state, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years and have led to the destruction of property and food shortages in the affected communities;

whereas the clashes in the region have their origins in communal tensions over land between nomadic herders and farmers, but have been exacerbated by the effects of climate change, agricultural expansion and rapid population growth; whereas the situation has been exacerbated by reprisal attacks and a wider criminal network;

whereas Nigeria is the largest economy on the African continent, but despite its vast resources, Nigeria is among the most unequal countries in the world with the largest population living in extreme poverty; whereas this poverty contributes directly to a social, religious and regional division;

Strongly condemns the escalating inter-ethnic violence between herders and farmers which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries and displaced thousands of people;

Warns against the instrumentalisation of the conflict for spreading religion-based hatred; recalls that until the 1970s, the coexistence between herdsmen and farmers was peaceful and regrets that the current violence, which is about access to land, and the disappearance of effective mediation schemes, is being depicted as a religious conflict, wrongly and dangerously simplifying the issue;

Calls on the Nigerian authorities, to put in place measures to ensure civilian protection and to create safeguards so security forces responding the violence do not commit more abuse;

Read the rest (6 paragraphs)

Demands the Nigerian authorities to take meaningful steps to address the underlying root causes and ensure non-repetition of this violence, promoting dialogue and understanding between diverse communities and peaceful coexistence;

Calls to the Nigerian authorities to conduct prompt, impartial and effective investigations in order to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible for the violence, and ensure that victims have access to effective remedies and full reparation;

Urges donors to increase their humanitarian aid by providing adequate relief, including protection, shelter, food and health care;

Condemns the impact that the climate crisis and the historical plundering of natural resources are having on the African continent; reiterates that announcements of green transitions, are insufficient without prior redistribution of wealth, as the cost of the transition will fall mainly on the poorest countries and the poorest parts of societies; ;

Urges the European Union to reach climate neutrality by 2040, while ensuring that the transition is just and inclusive, without leaving no one behind;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, Member States, and the Nigerian authorities.