Dr. Stanley Kavwam, Publicity Secretary of the Middle Belt Forum, has revealed that the wave of terrorist attacks in parts of Northern Nigeria is largely directed at Muslims who are seen as moderate or who cooperate with the military. He made this known during an interview on Arise News, where he discussed the growing insecurity and the motives behind the violence.
According to Kavwam, the ongoing attacks are not random but deliberate, designed to silence and punish those who reject extremist ideologies. He said that the terrorists have created a system of intimidation, ensuring that any Muslim who dares to align with government forces or provide intelligence against them becomes a target.
Kavwam explained that these extremist groups use religion as a justification for violence while enforcing their version of control over rural communities. In several parts of the North-West, he said, villagers have been compelled to negotiate peace deals with terrorists and bandits just to survive. Such deals, he noted, have become common in areas where government presence is weak and residents are left to choose between compliance and annihilation.
The Middle Belt Forum spokesman said the situation reflects the failure of successive administrations to address the root causes of insurgency and hold financiers of terrorism accountable. He recalled that intelligence agencies had previously identified individuals linked to terror financing, yet no decisive action was taken. He emphasized that the fight against terrorism will remain ineffective as long as the real backers of these violent groups remain protected.
Kavwam also expressed concern that while national attention often focuses on attacks against Christians, moderate Muslims face a similar threat from within. He said that these individuals are often viewed as traitors by extremist factions and are targeted to deter others from cooperating with security forces. This, he warned, has further deepened mistrust and weakened community resistance in affected regions.
Dr. Kavwam concluded by stressing that the pattern of violence has a clear identity and motive, one that cannot be denied or misunderstood.
“The primary reason they are targeting Muslims is because those Muslims are conceived to be moderate or even providing information to the military or security agencies to smoke them out. So as far as you do not oppose them, as far as you support what they are doing, you are protected and insulated from the attacks. Now, for all the attacks that are happening even in the North-West, particularly the boundary in the North-West where communities have to go into peace deals with these terrorists and bandits, one thing that is clear and unambiguous beyond any shadow of contradiction is the fact that the identity of the people perpetrating all of this are what? They are Muslims.”
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