Civil societies have called on the Federal Government to urgently prioritise the welfare, protection and safety of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and internally displaced communities (IDCs) in the Middle Belt and across all parts of Nigeria this Christmas and beyond.
They also urged security operatives to put in place measures aimed at guaranteeing the safety of communities, churches and worshippers as citizens travel for the Christmas and New Year festivities across the country.
In a statement signed by Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu and 24 other groups, they recalled Abuja/Jos/Kaduna, 19 December 2025, noting that since the 2010 Christmas Day twin bombing at Ungwan Rukuba and Gada Biyu in Jos, Plateau State, and the terror attack at St Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, on 25 December 2011, there has been grief-mapped mass displacement of persons and communities due to terror attacks at Christmas in Northern Nigeria and, more incessantly, in the Middle Belt region.
They cited the incident of 24 December 2016, when Goska community in Jema’a Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna was attacked.
“About 20 people were killed and hundreds of people in the community had to flee for safety. In recent times, more specifically, at the 2023 Christmas, over 212 people were killed across communities in Bokkos and Barikin Ladi of Plateau State, causing over 10,000 persons to be displaced.”
The coalition equally noted the 2024 Christmas celebrations, where about 46 worshippers were killed at Anwase, Gboko, in Benue State, causing 6,800 persons to join the over 150,000 displaced persons.
According to them, in the days leading up to the 2025 Christmas, 20 worshippers have been kidnapped in an ECWA Church in Ayetorokiri, Bunu-Kabba, Kogi State.
“This pattern of Christmas season mass atrocities across different parts of the Middle Belt of Nigeria needs to be addressed and prevented to drive a wedge between the intersection of faith-based insecurity and the violence of domestic terrorism across the country.”
The groups therefore called on the President to grant assent to the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) (Domestication Bill), to ensure a coordinated and harmonised rights-based approach to the national crisis of IDPs and IDCs.
They said they want the government to strive to timely reduce the number of displaced persons and communities in protracted situations through creative and stabilising economic empowerment solutions.
They added that states must ensure that the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) are immediately mobilised to provide food, water, shelter and physical security during this season to IDPs and IDCs across the Middle Belt and other parts of the country.
They said all should see to the voluntary return, local integration or resettlement of IDPs and IDCs by providing support for reintegration into communities and ensuring their participation in decisions and processes that affect their lives for durable solutions.
They expressed hope that the government will urgently prioritise action in addressing the protection needs of IDPs and IDCs, prevent further incidents that could increase their numbers, and address the displacement problem in an enduring and sustainable manner.
