Agency Reporter

The United Nations, (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been asked to show keener interest in the on-going killings in some territories in Northern Nigeria.

The group said the killings appear to have prompted an armed race among the contending parties warning that the crisis may engulf the country if the International community continues to look the other way.

Nigerians in Diaspora under the umbrella body of South, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities Forum, (SMBNMF) presents the letter to the UN Secretary in New York on Tuesday, August 04.

Signed by its President, Mr Sidney Imohbio, the SMBNMF said mass killings have become a pattern of life in territories belonging to Northern minorities adding that government officials and security operatives are taking sides.

“The SMBNMF has 24 branches in Nigeria. The facts available to us is that minorities have become targets of ethnic cleansing. No fewer than 1000 ethnic minorities have been killed between November 2019 and July 2020. The worst victimes are women and children” the group wrote in the petition.

It called on the UN Secretary General to appoint a Special Rappateur to visit Nigeria and ascertain the extent of the killings for appropriate actions.

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SMBNM is made up of groups and individuals from Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt and ethnic minorities in the North.

The group has held series of meetings at home and abroad calling for unity among the South and Middle Belt regions.

SMBNM said “People are being killed daily in Southern Kaduna, Plateau and territories belonging to minorities in the North. The Nigerian and Kaduna State government appear helpless. It is time for the United Nations to appoint a Special Rappateur for Nigeria in order for the UN to stop the carnage”, the group said in the petition.

It noted that the killings represent a potential threat to global peace.

“Nigeria is the biggest country in Africa. The killings in Kaduna and other places in the country can spur arms race with each side acquiring arms to fight each other. This is what has been happening. With millions of people discplaced including women and children, the possibility of West Africa being destabilised is real. The UN should act at the appropriate time before it is too late”, the group wrote.

It said at the local front progressive groups are uniting  to save Nigeria from violence but that local efforts need the support of the international community.

While Nigerians need a united front to save the country and prevent a violent break up, the Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities its resolution call for UN interest and intervention at this time.

In July the group held a meeting hosted in Manhattan, New York City via zoom which was attended by about 500 delegates from across the United States representing Southern, Middle Belt and Northern minorities.

The group’s resolution has been sent to political leaders in Europe, North America and the United Nations, (UN) Security Council with a clarion call for global focus in Nigeria.

“The crisis in Uganda started as a child’s play. Because the UN did not act on time, it led to genocide that killed over half a million people. The UN must act before it is too late” the group said.

The petition signed by the group’s President Mr President, Sidney Imobhio Esq, a prominent lawyer in New York said Nigeria is at the verge of a major calamity occassioned by poverty,  armed conflict and violence adding that the prospect of a violent break up is real unless the progressives come together to save the country.

“Reports from local and international organisations show that Nigeria is dancing on a blade edge. The political class appears helpless. Corruption is killing the country and elections have become rituals that make no direct impact on the livelihood of the people. A UN special meeting on Nigeria at this time send a strong warning to Nigerian leaders that the poor Nigerian masses are not at the mercy of their cruel political leaders.”