A missionary man in Nigeria, Alex Barbir, has said that the coordinated attacks in Nigeria are an indication that war is currently being waged on the country.
Barbir became popular in Nigeria for his humanitarian effort, especially in Jos, Plateau State, where dozens were massacred on Palm Sunday.
“When I first arrive din Nigeria, I witnessed people being killed right by military checkpoints,” he lamented on News Central about a village that was burnt with 60 people killed.
Barbir then addressed questions about why he was the first to arrive at the scene of the Palm Sunday massacre.
“Since my time in Nigeria, I cannot come here and not experience killing. People ask, ‘How was I so quick to go to the scene in Jos?’ When people are massacred 10 minutes from your hotel, it doesn’t take long to go. I could walk to the scene.”
Asked if he was not afraid of being killed while visiting the scene, he said, “I drove. I had no fear because I knew that at that point, Christians were there. The Muslims who came killed those people, innocent men. The scene was still tense, but it was calm. I knew that there were 500 Christians sitting together. If anything were to happen, they would be unified.”
Further speaking, Barbir wondered when Nigeria will realise that the terrorism it faces is actually a war on the country and not random criminality.
He said, “The attacks are clearly a plan. It’s not just killing one or two people. When you look at Barkin Ladi, when you look at Bokkos in the villages, when they attacked on Christmas Eve… If thousands of fighters attacked in unison, countless villages at the same time. This is not just some random criminality or someone just decided to take the gun that they have or a shotgun or whatever it is and go to a village and kill somebody. This is war being waged on people. If there is no war in Nigeria, what is happening? In every state, your security forces are deployed everywhere. In every state, you have people that are being killed, both Christians and Muslims. If that is not war, what is war? War is at home now in Nigeria. Forget talking about anywhere else, Iran, or the Middle East. Right now, people are being massacred across Nigeria, even in Kwara. I was in Kwara to build Oworo Village three weeks ago. That’s why I came to Nigeria, to rebuild primarily for Muslims. The chairman, the governor and security forces said no. They said it’s a little bit too risky for you right now. I haven’t heard from them. But we went there. Muslims were killed. They came in the night and destroyed everything. They even just blew up a bomb recently. In Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara and all these places, you have hundreds of fighters that are coming in, killing people, burning villages, stealing and taking over everything. How is that not coordinated?”
Guardian
