whosemotherdiedintheattack, killedbyviolenceinthecountry's someyearsnow." leavingthemorphaned. MiddleBeltstatesasradicalized ThereligiousleadercalledonU.S. "We'vedoneeverythingtoraise Fulaniherdershavebeenknownto leaderstodisclosewhyNigeriawas moneyhereandthere,toprovidethem carryoutattacksagainst removedfromthelistofCPCsand theeducationtheyneed,"thebishop predominantlyChristianfarming "make[a]pronouncementtostopthe added. communities.Inthecountry's killing." Thedioceseisalsoworkingto northeast,Islamicextremistgroups "Thatwouldbeakindofgeneral preparethechurcheswithcamerasto likeBokoHaramandIslamicState understandingthatAmericais preventfuture"episodes." WestAfricaProvincehavekilled complicitinwhateverisgoingonto "[We're]tryingtoeducateourpeople thousandsanddisplacedmillions. protectlivesandpropertiesofinnocent onsecuritymattersinourdiocese,"he Humanrightsadvocateshave NigerianChristians"whose"only stated. arguedforyearsthatviolenceagainst crimeisthattheybelieveinGod"and AccordingtoArogundade,the ChristiansinNigeriahasreachedthe "believeinJesusChrist,"Arogundade southwesternportionofNigeriawhere standardfor"genocide."However,the said. thedioceseislocated"isreallyastable Nigeriangovernmentmaintainsthat "Ijustwantthewholeworldtosee partofNigeria"andhas"neverhadthis religionisnotafactorandhaswritten andtohearandtoknowourstory.We kindofincidentbefore." offtheviolenceintheMiddleBelt needtoaskaquestionfromthe "We'resoshockedandsurprisedthat statesasdecades-oldfarmer-herder leadershipofNigeriawhytheyarenot anyonewouldcomefromfaraway…to clashes. protectingus,whytheyarenottaking attackus,"ArogundadetoldCP. Arogundadecharacterizesthe proactiveactionstoprotectlaw-abiding HepraisedtheresponseoftheOndo attacksagainstChristiansinNigeria citizensofthenation." stategovernment,notingthat"the as"ethnoreligious."Hebelievesthat Inreleasingitsannualinternational governorhasbeenvery,verygracious what'shappenedinNigeria"hasgotten religiousfreedomreportlastmonth, andvery,verysupportive." tothatlevelofgenocide." theU.S.StateDepartment However,heclaimsthefederal Hecalledforan"outcryfromall acknowledgedthat"pervasiveviolence government'sresponsetotheattackis decentpeopleoftheworldsothatthe involvingpredominantlyMuslim "lousy"andsimilartoitsresponseto perpetratorscanbebroughttojustice." herdersandmostlyChristian,butalso thefrequentattacksagainstChristians ArogundadecriticizedtheU.S.State Muslim,farmers,particularlyinthe inotherpartsofNigeria.Arogundade Department'sremovalofNigeriafrom NorthCentral,butalsointheNorth claimsthefederalgovernmentledby itslistofcountriesofparticular West(wheremostfarmerswere PresidentMuhammaduBuharihas concernfortoleratingorengagingin Muslim)andSouthWestregions." electedto"justlookaway,playing egregiousviolationsofreligious DatafromtheNigeriasecurity dumb." freedomlastNovember.Nigeriawas trackermaintainedbytheCouncilon Inrecentyears,thousandshavebeen addedtothelistin2020bytheTrump ForeignRelationssuggeststhatan StateDepartmentafteryearsofoutcry fromNigerianChristiansandrights activists. "I just want the whole InremovingNigeriaasaCPC,the In recent years, thousands StateDepartmentignoredthe world to see and to hear have been killed by recommendationoftheU.S. and to know our story. CommissiononInternational violence in the country's ReligiousFreedom,anindependent Middle Belt states as paneltaskedbyCongresstoadvisethe federalgovernmentonreligious estimated10,399deathsoccurredfrom radicalized Fulani herders freedommatters. conflictin2021.Thecouncilestimated have been known to "Whoeverdiditmusthaveactedout that1,112deaths"resultedfrom ofignorance,lackofunderstandingof violenceamongethnicgroups, carry out attacks against whatisgoingon,"Arogundadesaid. herdsmen,andfarmers,someofwhich predominantly Christian "Everyday,thereareattackshereand hadimplicationsforreligionand therealloverNigeria,exceptforthe religiousfreedom,accordingto farming communities. southwestthathasbeenverystablefor multipleobserversor,inthewordsof Christianpost.com 29