On 29 May, President Muhammadu Buhari left office in Nigeria after eight years. His successor is Bola Tinubu. Buhari’s first term in office was accompanied by great hope at the beginning of 2015. Many Nigerians believed that would curb the religiously and ideologically motivated terrorist activities in some parts of the country. While this may be true for the attacks by Boko Haram, it is not for the attacks by militant Fulani herdsmen gangs and groups like the “Islamic State in the West African Province”. The Christians in particular, with a 40% share of the population (about the same as the Muslims), have been bitterly disappointed. They miss the determination of the security forces. Moreover, Buhari did not tackle important political tasks such as fighting unemployment and corruption—problems that continue to act as a breeding ground for extremism.

“In all areas of the country, on the other hand, he has ensured Muslim supremacy,” criticizes ISHR Board of Trustees member Professor Obiora Ike in a review. “The number of persecuted Christians has increased at an alarming rate since 2015.” The Catholic priest and former vicar general (head of administration) of the Enugu diocese, accuses the former president of not having done anything serious to put an end to the killings—acting according to the rule of law to protect one’s own citizens who are under threat looks different.

The International Society for Human Rights sees Ike’s clear criticism backed up by figures. The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, an initiative based in eastern Nigeria, published a shocking report this spring which showed that since 2015, the year Buhari took over government responsibility, more than 30,000 Christians have fallen victim to acts of Islamist terrorism; in the same period, perpetrators of violence burned down around 18,000 churches and more than 2,000 Christian schools. The death toll includes, for example, the 46 mourners who, on the 5th of April, fell victim to a herdsmen gang attack during a funeral in Umogidi village near Otukpo town in Benue State. Buhari said during his tenure that the Fulani herdsmen could no longer find food for their cattle because of climate change and that therefore, conflicts with farmers over land claims were occurring. The incidents in Benue, however, pointed to the conclusion that Christians were deliberately attacked to eliminate them and drive them away.